Tainted
by The Black Joker
Summary: A young girl tries to uncover the mystery behind her past, family's death, and her clan's annihilation. A witch makes a dangerous deal to obtain a powerful soul in order to complete her malicious goal. A killer sets his eyes on a young girl in whom he believes is at fault. Warning: Male!CronaxOC and Amnesiac!Arachne
1. The Move

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

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"C'mon you guys! Stop being so gloomy this'll be an adventure for all four of us!" Mom cheerfully exclaimed for the time during this trip.

_Mom has shoulder length brown hair with brown eyes. She usually wears a carefree expression on her face. She's also a VERY dramatic person. She's wearing a 100% cotton-made aqua cowl neck jumper, with some blue jeans._

"Your mother's right girls, this will be a great experience!" My stepdad added.

_My stepdad has short black hair with brown eyes. He's wearing a brown jacket, along with some black jeans._

Bleh…

I'm not going to enjoy this move at all. I didn't want to leave my old house in Carson City. But now, we _have _to move because of my father and his cousin's (weapon partner) death. I regret the day he went off to a mission with his weapon partner and never returned. Worried, my mother had called the police to tell them that my father and his weapon partner were missing. After a throughout search they found my father and his weapon partner's corpses...

Before my father had passed away, our family had to deal with the death of my small sister, who died when she was five, while I was six. That was a depressing time for my mother, father, and I. But strangely enough my dad's weapon partner cried the most…. Of course this was before Adriana joined the family….

But when the recent news of my father passing away reached our ears, everyone started crying. … My mother cried, I cried, my weapon partner Adriana cried. She liked my dad; he was like a father to her…. We were all depressed for months.

Unfortunately, my dad was the only one in the family who had a job. He was the best. He didn't want my mom to work because of her condition. So, he told the family that he was the one who was going to work hard to support all of us.

It was only a few weeks ago that the government told us that they were going to kick us out of our house. It was because we couldn't pay for the houses expenses. My mom did get a job, but with her condition she couldn't do much. The best thing she could do was get re-married so that someone else could help her. I'm only 13 years old, so of course _I _can't work. Trust me; if I was older I'd definitely work for my family. But since I can't, and neither can Adriana, mom went out with her plan. We both have her approval. And she promised us that the man she was going to marry would be an amazing guy, which I would at least approve of. But boy was she ever wrong!

The man she married was _Robert. _I didn't approve of this scumbag the moment he walked into my house and said, "Hi!" It's not that he abuses my mother, or that he's using her (if that were the case we wouldn't be in his car!). The only reason I didn't tell my mom that I didn't like him was because she seemed happy to be with him. And I felt bad about taking away that happy look from her face. Adriana likes him because he buys her _whatever _she wants! He would do the same for me but I easily told him that my approval cannot be bought.

He knows that I don't like him. He's aware that I hate him with all my heart. He knows that to get my approval he has to change something about himself. But the thing is: he doesn't know _what to change. _He's aware of all these things but he doesn't know the reason why. His little tiny, idiotic brain only knows that I hate him. And that is all he will _ever _know.

He's so curious that he even got my _mother _to find out. And that's just desperate. It's kinda pathetic how he wants my approval so badly. It's like he can't live without it. I would like it if he dropped dead and stopped the car he was driving. But sadly, that can't happen unless a miracle occurred.

Once Robert and my mother got married he decided that we should move. Just like that. The next day of their wedding he announces at the dinner table, "I think we should move out of this place!" He stated with his little snappy smile…. I despise that smile.

It seems like I'm a very hateful person. But that's only to people who I despise. To be honest, I only hate _him_ for the time being. Who knows if I'll hate other people at the new city I'm moving to?

The only reason we're moving is because Robert believes that our house is too small to raise a joyous family. My mom agreed, I even agreed. That just proves how small my old house was! But, I still want to_ live_ in it. Who knew my opinion would arouse his decision to move even more! I guess with this move he believes that he will gain my approval. How wrong he is!

We are in the Nevada desert, currently driving to a place called, "Death City." I've never heard of the place before. I even tried searching it on the internet but nothing showed up.

Robert thinks we should move there because:

He lives there (he has a mansion which is the only thing I'm excited about).

He claims that there is a school there named, "Death Weapon Meister Academy." He says it's a perfect school for me to go to because there they teach Meisters and their weapons all kinds of neat stuff.

It's pretty~ (It's these types of comments Robert makes that makes me question his sexuality…)

I've never seen the place, and looking out the car's front window; I only see sand. Honestly, I think Robert's crazy. It doesn't look like there's a city out there, in the middle of a desert.

I am a Meister and Adriana is my weapon. I guess I'm also excited (if it's real) to go to school there. At least I won't be going alone (unless Adriana gets distracted and runs off in the first day).

Let me ask Robert where it is, "Robert I don't see anything but sand. Do you mind telling me where this city is exactly?" Of course he'd love to! Anything for me!

_I have long brick red hair that reaches up to my waist. My hair is currently picked up in a pony-tail with a black ribbon supporting it (the heat calls for it). I have dark green eyes, but, instead of having black pupils, I have a crescent moon that's on my left eye. The color of the moon is a lighter green. I received my looks from my father. _

_What I am wearing is a red t-shirt with black suspenders and black and white striped fingerless gloves. And black knee-length shorts, short black boots._

He hates it when I'm so formal with him. Good… "Of course I don't mind Mary!" He puts on his little cat smile and looks at me from the front mirror. "Death City is located right in the middle of this Nevada desert... We _are _getting closer. In a few minutes you will be able to see it."

Thank Josh! I just want to go to his supposed 'mansion' and take a cold shower. This car has no AC! It's horrifying!

I look over to my left to see Adriana looking at something in her phone. She's been absorbed in that thing for hours now! I wonder what she's watching.

"Adriana?" I call out.

"What?" she snaps at me. I don't blame her mood. She _hates _sweating and she was really working up the sweat drops.

_Adriana looks like an angel. If you didn't know her all that well, you'd actually believe that she IS an angel. She has light blonde hair that reaches up to the middle of her back. She also has straight horizontal bangs that run across her forehead (unlike my bangs that are irregularly shaped). And light blue eyes. She's wearing a white dress with long sleeves. The bottom part of the dress is raised upward and has wave-like borders. It rises up to her knees._

"Um… What are you watching?"

"Why do you care?" she snaps again.

"It's because you've been staring at your phone for hours, I just want to know what you're watching."

"It's called, 'The None of Your Business Show'!" she broadcasts in a manly voice.

"… Thanks." She's obviously in a bad mood. Next time she's sweating buckets I'm not going to talk to her.

I jump over to the middle seat and look at my mom. She looks at me from her phone in surprise. "Is there something wrong sweetie?"

"No, I'm just bored," I wonder what she's doing on her phone. I have a phone but it died just a few minutes ago.

"Well, we're almost there!" She raised her hand up and pumped it in the air. Oh mom, so full of energy. No wonder my dad fell for her. My dad was _definitely not _the type of guy to be all cheery and dancing. That's why the old expression of, "opposites attract" is something I believe in.

Robert ruined that relationship with my mom. He's all carefree and loose, just like my mom. And it's annoying to have to grown adults dancing and bouncing all around the house, while you're trying to do your homework or study for a test. There's another reason to why I hate Robert.

"WE'RE HERE!" Thanks Robert for shrieking that inside my ear. Mom, Adriana, and I all jump. And immediately we are all looking out the front window to see Death City.

It's… interesting.

From where we are, it looks like a castle.

As we get closer I can see more clearly how it is:

_It looks dark and gloomy in appearance, a pile of various identical-looking buildings with white walls and red roofs in the middle of the deserts of Nevada._

Now for some reason Robert circling the city like an idiot. I go and sit back in the middle seat and grab my book bag. He's probably going to park or something.

"Since, we cannot park inside the city itself we have to park the car in a basement Death City has!" Robert (ugh) screams.

"Why can't we park inside the city?" Adriana asks. Oh, so _now _she gets rid of her crappy attitude.

"It's because the city's streets are not made for cars. The cobbled streets of Death City are long and winding and often maze-like, with lots of stairs, twists and turns."

"Yeah ok," Adriana replies and goes back to her seat and stares at the gray walls of the basement we just entered. Can't wait…

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**Author's Note: **Don't worry; the main cast will appear in the next chapter. Thank you for reading!


	2. New Friends

**Author's Note: **Thank you, Skai Breeze, for my first nice review. Motivation has been given to continue!

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater**

It turns out everything Robert said about Death City was true. Yesterday, after we moved and got ready for everything, Robert took us around the whole city. I personally loved it! It's like the city was made for me to live in! Back home I always felt like I didn't fit in, but now I do!

Today is Friday (YES~) and it's time to head over to the academy.

Currently at the bottom of the stairs, my mouth hangs open and so does Adriana's mouth. This school's look is… AWESOME!

_Standing on a large platform which can be accessed by a long line of white steps, the school is comprised of a collection of large black towers and spires patterned with white lines and the occasional Shinigami mask. The roofs of the towers are conical and bright red in color. Enormous candles poke out of shafts along the circumference of the buildings. The Academy's most distinguishing feature however are the three large Shinigami skulls lined up at the entrance. The middle skull is the largest, and sports three blood red spikes going through its eye and nose holes. The skulls on the side are smaller and have slanted eyes. The gaps between the 'teeth' of these giant skulls serve as the school's main entrances. At the top of the school hover three strange black orbs._

"Cool!" I exclaim, my eyes with stars.

"Bleeeehhh!" Adriana gives off the opposite reaction.

"What!" I turn towards her. "What do you mean, 'Bleeeehhh'?" This school looks so cool!

"This school looks all gloomy and dark! Bleh!" she complains, and then sticks out her tongue.

"You're insane…"

"Wha—? Me! I'M insane?" she screamed at me with a disbelieving look.

This is bad… other students are starting to look at our direction. I grabbed her hand and led her to the stairs, "C'mon forget about what I just said, let's just go find some hot guys for you to stare at ok?" I know if I mention 'hot guys' she will instantly pay attention.

"Hot guys~!" she cheerfully sings behind me.

Once, we reached up the stairs this girl walks up to us and asks, "Hey are you Mary Roman?"

"Uh… Yeah," I let go of Adriana's hand and look at the girl.

"Hi! My name is Maka, I'm here as your 'tour guide' to show you and your weapon partner around the school!" she explains cheerfully with her hands behind her back.

_She's wearing a typical schoolgirl outfit, a white blouse with a yellow sweater vest, a red plaid skirt, and black boots with white buckles. Her hair is ash blonde and in pigtails (with the same strange bangs as me). She has large olive green eyes._

"Oh! Thanks Maka! Who knows where we'd end up if we didn't have someone to show us around?" I thank her and she tells us to follow.

* * *

Ok, so the school might look cool on the outside but it's so _rich _in the inside! I'm definitely, loving this city! And considering that I'm going to live here and everything….

The school has allowed the three of us to skip our first two classes. Like that, Maka can show us around the school peacefully without much distraction.

Maka started her tour and I learned:

The Academy is quite big and grand inside and contains many long corridors with arched ceilings and lamps to light the way and staircases. The corridors also have round windows looking out onto the school grounds. And that the school is infamous for its winding corridors, many passageways and long staircases.

The school has a large cafeteria providing the students with food during the school day. It has a rich menu, serving meals from all around the world.

The Library is incredibly big, a large room that goes up to at least three floors, with bridges connecting the opposite sides of each floor, with shelves upon shelves of books and has desks with lit torches for study. The Library follows a rule which restricts some students to only be able to look at a limited number of books in the Library.

One of the lively places in the Academy, the Mission Bulletin is where Meisters get their missions to hunt Evil humans and get more Kishin Eggs to make their Weapons Death Scythes. Descriptions of each mission are written on cards and placed on the bulletin. Students are free to pick which mission they want, but the missions can have special requirements written on them as well. Some missions can be dangerous, and mainly include killing Evil humans. However, some do not involve Evil human and are just missions to create peace and help people in distress. Near the bulletin is the Reception. Here, students who have chosen their missions take their mission cards to the receptionist who checks whether they are viable for the mission before actually assigning the mission to them.

The classrooms are also wide and spacious and resemble lecture halls rather than classrooms, with pitched floors and conjoined desks and the blackboard and the teacher's desk in the center. There are also windows at the back which provide a view of the grounds. Each class has a homeroom teacher. Maka's class, called Class Crescent Moon, has Stein as their teacher. It seems that students have free access to the classrooms, even outside lessons. There are also special classrooms lit with aromatic candles.

The dispensary is the area where sick or injured Meisters and Weapons are treated. The dispensary is a typical hospital room with several beds and an examining room, a doctor's office and a storeroom for all the medicine. In the hospital wards, a couple of health posters can be seen.

There is a running track located outside the school building used for Physical Education classes. The Academy has shower rooms for students to use after Physical Education classes. The Academy also has its own dojo, where students, both Meister and Weapon, spar with each other, with a referee.

The dance studio (surprisingly enough) is not really used for dancing, this room is usually used for beginner Meisters and their Weapons to improve their combat skills. The room is wide and spacious in order for plenty of movement for more than one person, and has some side benches and a locker area and changing rooms.

The restrooms are quite spacious and lavish.

The Academy has wide balconies for students to access and the grounds in front of the entrance are also used as a makeshift battleground for training fights between students. During these battles, a member of staff must be present to view the fight. The area near DWMA also seems to be a forest area.

Lush green gardens with many trees surround the school. It is a perfect place for various students to train individually.

Lockers are also seen in some parts of the corridors. A few lockers are decorated with stickers.

The information management room is a confidential room only allowed by staff and highly trusted members of the DWMA, this is where all confidential information is stored, such as files on past incidents regarding beings such as Witches and Kishin.

Although it is not used much, DWMA does have its own dungeon for holding various prisoners. There is also an interrogation room present.

Finally, the second bell rang and that's when we were finally done with the tour.

"Ok! That's the lunch bell! Do you guys want to have lunch with me and my friends?"

"Sure," I thankfully appreciate.

"Hey Maka I have a question," Adriana said.

"What is it Adriana?"

"Do you have guy friends?"

Oh no… I know where _this _is going.

"Yeah…. Why?"

"How many? Are they hot?" That's my Adriana, not afraid to speak her mind at all. I put my hand on my forehead. _But I wish she'd have _some _indecency._

"Well… exactly four. And as for the 'hot' thing…" She smiled and looked at Adriana. "I guess your gonna find out now."

With that she began to walk toward the cafeteria.

* * *

I'm a nervous wreck! I'm usually not the 'shy' type. I'm only shy around strangers. And this lunch table is _definitely _filled with strangers!

"Ok! Guys this is Mary Roman and her weapon partner Adriana!" Maka happily introduced us.

I look over at Adriana who's sitting next to me. She's staring all lovey-dovey at the boy in front of her. I can see why, he's incredibly hot…. It's official. This guy is going to be what I'm going to hear about for… ever.

"Ok, let me introduce myself first!" The one in front of me stands up on the table and pumps his fist into the air, to announce proudly, "My name is Black Star: I'm the most super awesome and super cool god in this entire school—no, this entire world—no this entire UNIVERSE!"

So I guess this is the most energetic one in the group.

_He has bright blue spiky hair, with the spikes sticking in out in the manner of a star-shape. He is rather short, not that much taller than Maka, but is well-muscled. His eyes are green. His outfit is a sleeveless black shirt with a funnel-like collar, with white trousers that are black from the knee down and just a little short of being full length jeans. On the front of his collar, two short strips of grey material adorned with rivets stretch down fro, the top of the collar to the breast of his shirt. Black Star has similar strips wrapped around his neck in the form of a scarf, and around his waist in the form of a belt. Rivets can also be seen on his pockets and on the ends of his trousers. On his hand, he wears gray fingerless gloves with heavy wrist weights and has a band going across the back of each hand, adorned with a star. Black Star's footwear is basic black boots with white tips, with a star shape visible on the toe of each boot. On his right shoulder is his star-shaped tattoo._

"Hi my name is Tsubaki, I'm Black Star's weapon partner," she smiles kindly at me and Adriana (who's not even paying attention). She really seems nice and very different from her hyperactive partner. Again I say, _"Opposites attract."_ "Sorry, if Black Star makes you feel uncomfortable…" she apologizes in advance.

_She's wearing a pale yellow, sleeveless outfit with a skirt end that has a slit down the side with a bright yellow star emblazoned on the right side of the chest. She's also wearing a dark brown scarf and a tight dark brown stocking on her right leg starting just above the knee and white boots. She's wearing a sash that looks similar to Black Star's grey riveted straps that wraps around her waist twice and hangs down diagonally from right to left. She has long black hair tied up in a ponytail and large indigo eyes._

She stands up (joining her teammate on the table) and puts her arm on Black Star's shoulder, "Black Star, please sit down, you're going to create a scene."

"That's what I was born for Tsubaki, to create a scene!" He poses dramatically. Then, finally, sits down.

All in all, she seems very nice.

"Soul, introduce yourself," Maka says to the guy who's sitting next to her.

"You already kinda did… but… whatever," the guy next to her shrugs his shoulders. "I'm Soul, Maka's scythe weapon partner."

_Soul has white hair swept to one side, and red eyes. He has a heavily exaggerated facial expression and pointed teeth. He has a lazy, droopy, and somewhat uninterested expression on his face. Soul's wearing a hair band with a black leather jacket, an orange T-shirt and a pair of light brown pants._

"That's all you have to say?" Maka looked at Soul with a pissed off expression.

"Yeah… Why? Do I have to tell them my life's story while I'm at it?" he sarcastically asked.

"No…. Whatever! Kid you're turn!" Maka seems really cheerful.

"What better way to show our new students who we are then doing our famous formation? Liz, Patty?" Kid gets up and two girls follow him.

At the top, the tallest girl says, "I'm Liz Thompson," in a bored voice.

In the middle, the shorter of the two, says, "Hi~! I'm Patty… Oh! Thompson!"

And at the bottom there is Kid, who says, "And I'm Death the Kid. The son of Lord Death himself!" he added proudly. "Liz and Patty are both my demon twin guns."

_Kid's on his knees with his arms low to the ground, Patty is standing over him with her hands behind her head and Liz is above both of them with her arms outstretched like wings. There was only one problem though: Patty was standing a little too far to her left side._

Apparently Kid noticed this, broke the formation, and ranted, "Patty can't you do anything right? It's bad enough that you two have different bodies but now you have to mess up our formation by moving to the left side! No SYMMETRY, disgusting!"

_Kid is dressed in a refined manner. He's wearing a black business suit with white rectangles. There are at least six small rectangles along the seam where the sleeves attach to the jacket, and four small rectangles run along the front of his jacket. His undershirt is a formal white dress shirt, and a metallic skull rests under his collar, and could be used as a tie. Kid's most notable feature is the three white lines that cut across the left side of his black hair, stopping in a completely straight line along the front and back of his head. Another noticeable feature would be his eyes. Kid's eyes are two different shades of yellow, ringing around his pupil. The outside ring is a bright yellow while the inner ring is a dark yellow, similar to the color of gold._

"Calm your pantaloons Kid! You care too much about symmetry when you're not even symmetrical yourself! Three white lines on one side of your hair but not on the other? Pfft!" Liz complained.

_Liz has light caramel-colored brown hair that reaches her mid-back, dark blue eyes, and tanned skin. She is much taller than her sister. Both of them are wear cowgirl outfits: A tight sleeveless red turtleneck belly shirt with a white tie and a white sports jacket of the same length over it, cowboy hat and black high-heel boots. However, unlike Patty, Liz wears long jeans and also wears two silver bracelets on each wrist. Also there is a subtle difference in their hats. Patty's hat has rounded rims, whilst Liz's hat has rims that slant forward. I guess she's the mature one out of the two…_

With that sentence said, Kid fell on the floor and started bawling, "You're right! I'm an abomination! A disgrace! I. Am. ASYMMETRICAL! I don't deserve the title of Shinigami!"

"I like pie!" Patty randomly yelled.

_Patty has chin-length, bright blonde hair with bangs, light blue eyes. Her sister is much older and taller than her. Both of the Thompson sisters wear cowgirl outfits: A tight, red, sleeveless, turtleneck belly shirt with a white tie and a white sports jacket of the same length over it, cowboy hat and black, high-heel boots. However, unlike Liz, Patty wears puffy shorts. There is also a subtle difference in her hat. Liz's hat has rims that slant forwards, whereas Patty's hat has rims that are in a perfect curve. She's the energetic girl in the group._

Kid lifted his head from the cafeteria floor and agreed, "Yes! Pie is symmetrical! And circles! And squares! And triangles, all those regular shapes!"

"Keep talking and you'll _be _a regular shape!" Liz threatened.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Kid agreed.

With Kid's agreement, Liz kicked him right in the face.

"You idiot I was JOKING!" Kid screamed.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Patty laughed.

"Yep… This is just one, big, normal family," Maka sarcastically replied.

I look to my side to see if Adriana is affected by Kid's sudden scene. She still has hearts in her eyes. So I guess Kid's obsession with symmetry isn't going to stop her love.

I look back at Maka, and reply, "Yeah…" with a nervous smile.

"Wait a minute!" Adriana suddenly shot up from her seat and pointed a finger at Maka. "You said that there were _four _guys here! I counted and there are only _three!" _She pulled her finger back. "Care to explain?"

I squash Adriana's foot. "OUCH! What was _that _for?" Adriana looks down at me with hate in her eyes.

"Don't be rude!" I accuse her.

"It's okay! Really," Maka intruded.

"So~ who's missing?" Adriana asked, lowering her butt to the stool.

"Crona," Maka answered simply.

"What?"

"Crona is our last guy friend. He couldn't make it to lunch today," Maka explained. It seems that she isn't saying everything…

"Why?"

Maka looked over at Soul and they both stared at each other. I guess she's asking for his permission(?). Permission denied. Soul snaps his head to the table, meaning a "no."

"He… was feeling sick today!" Maka bumps her fist into her hand. What a great last minute excuse. It wasn't any of our business to ask any way! Stupid Adriana… She and I need to have a little chat.

"So is he a weapon or a meister?" This girl is going to keep going with the 'Crona' topic. She isn't gonna stop until she meets the guy and sees if he's hot or ugly. Why she do this? I don't know. All I know is that she isn't going to stop until she sees. If Crona is 'hotter' (for her, at least) than Kid, she will go for Crona and have Kid as a backup. If Crona's 'ugly' (for her) then she'll just forget about it.

"He's a Meister."

"Is his weapon male?"

"His weapon _is_ male, but not really human."

"Oh…" Adriana continues! "Can you describe him?"

"Who…?"

"Crona..."

"Uh… don't worry! You'll meet him soon enough!"

"Is he in any of our upcoming classes?"

I cannot believe this! My own weapon is embarrassing me to death by asking all these _stupid _questions! If I were Maka I would just tell her to shut up! Or leave. Why doesn't Adriana just stop talking already?

"He's in _all _your classes…"

"Oh! Ok!" Adriana was now pleased, knowing she was going to be able to see Crona's face soon.

"Are you in all of our classes Maka?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's why I got paired up being your 'tour guide.'" Maka explained cheerfully. At least she recovered that.

"Then why wasn't Crona our tour guide?" Adriana asked. This child! Ughh!

"Crona is really, really, _really _shy around people. He isn't exactly the type of person to be showing someone around the school."

"Ah."

"I'm really sorry for her behavior," I shake my head in disapproval.

"Hey!" Adriana complains.

"It's ok! She's just like Black Star," Maka smiles and does a dismissive gesture with her hand.

Black Star hears this and replies, "Hey!"

With that, everyone from the table stands up to get their food.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Most descriptions are from the Soul Eater wikia page, I'm not going to take credit. But anyways, thank you for reading! Chapter three will be up tomorrow!


	3. Crona

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

* * *

"It's the best day ever~! Best day ever~! It's the best day ever~! Best day ever~! It's the best-!" Adriana's annoying singing was interrupted by my screaming.

"SHUT UP!"

"Well!"

Adriana, Maka, Soul, and I are currently going down the stairs. Today's school day ended and we're all going home.

"Crona wasn't in _any _of our classes at all!" Adriana complained/pouted.

"Shut it, child!" Please… stop with the Crona topic!

"I'm older than you!" What?

"Sorry about that…" Maka apologized and looked at us. She began to explain, "After lunch ended he decided to go home for the day because he continued feeling sick. But don't worry you'll meet him tomorrow if you meet us at the festival."

"Festival…?" I repeated.

"Yeah tomorrow the city is having a festival and we're all going to celebrate!" Maka enthusiastically commented.

"Are you inviting us to go with you guys?" I needed a clear answer. I am not going to show up there and bother them, if they didn't want me to come in the first place.

"Yeah you guys can come with us!"

"Thanks Maka. You're really nice! We greatly appreciate it."

"No problem," Maka replied while rubbing the back of her head… clearly pleased.

We had made it downstairs. "Here…" Maka took out her red and black phone and told me, "Why don't we exchange numbers?"

"Sure…" I took out my brand new phone. Yesterday, (along with Adriana and mom) Robert took us to a phone store where they sell phones made specifically for Death City.

Turns out normal phones made by other states won't work inside here. So, Robert bought all three of us new phones. The design of the phones was beyond _awesome! _It's like an iPhone; it had all the same properties and everything. You can even say that it _was _an iPhone. But the phone's appearance was different. The phone is shaped like a Shinigami mask; the one Lord Death wears.

It's the same type of phone for everyone. There are no other designs or anything! No Blackberries, or flip phones. Nothing! Only what they call the iDeath. Pretty cool name!

Mine is black, Adriana's is pink, Mom's is purple, and boring old Robert gets brown. He likes brown!

After all four of us exchanged our numbers we went off our separate ways.

Maka told us that she was going to text us the details about what we should wear and bring.

* * *

"_Boys and girls of every age, wouldn't you like to see something strange? Come with us and you will see. This, our, town of Halloween."_

Before the song could continue, I unlock my phone and answered Maka's call.

"Hello?" It was morning and my ringtone had just waked me up. That was why my voice was hoarse and dry.

"Hey! Where are you?" Maka questioned.

"Um… home?" I don't like being confused early in the morning.

"Aren't you on your way? We're all waiting for you to arrive!" Maka yelled (not high enough; still trying to be nice and all).

"Oh shoot! Sorry Maka! We overslept; we didn't know what time we were supposed to be there! Sorry…"

"We…? …But… Adriana's here!"

I can't believe what I just heard. Now I'm awake! "She's… there? Like, _with_ you guys?"

"Yeah, she said that she didn't want to wake you up, because you looked so adorable in your sleep. You better come over here quick! We're growing impatient! Bye!"

I cannot believe it. Adriana doesn't even bother waking me up and just goes without me… What a despicable little—!

* * *

I'm running over to the where the group is.

I still can't believe Adriana left to go without me… That child is _going _to apologize!

Ah! I see them! Once I reach up to them: I bend down, hold my knees, and breathe heavily.

"There you are!"

"Where, have you been?"

"We were worried!"

"Now we're late!"

"I like giraffes~!"

"Why didn't you go with Adriana?"

"What on earth are you wearing?"

"Oh no she's here…"

This was all the screaming dialogue I heard from the position I was in. Of course everyone was screaming at the same time, I could only identify who said what by their voices. The last dialogue I heard caught my attention. It must've been from… Crona…

I finally look up. From my right to my left there is: Liz, Kid, Patti, Tsubaki, Black Star, little despicable Adriana, Soul, Maka, and finally (I guess) Crona.

"Finally…! It's about time!" Black Star screams. "Now let's go!" He marches around and starts stomping off.

Everyone else follows him. I'm still huffing and puffing. The only ones who stayed behind were: Adriana, Maka, and Crona.

"Hey! Glad you made it in time!" Adriana cheerfully states. I'm going to kill her when we're alone!

"Mary…!" Maka tries to get my attention.

"Yeah…?" I look up at her. Ew… I'm sweating.

"This is Crona," she points over to the guy next to her. She looks at Crona and coaxes him, "Go on Crona. Introduce yourself."

"… I don't know how to interact with… um… her…" he says blushing while fumbling around with his two index fingers.

_Crona has a thin body, monotone expression, pink hair, and tall stature... His hair is quite short, with several long, large clumps sticking out in several places. The bangs are straight-cut and end above the eyebrows, but do not stay very uniform. Two long pieces of hair extend from the bangs and hang low over Crona's face. Crona's wearing a long black old-style robe that is tight-fitting and ends at the mid-calf level on his legs. The robe is completed with large white cuff-links at the ends of each sleeve and a tall white button-up collar at the neck. Black slipper-like shoes with a tall white cuff protruding out of the top are also worn._

"Then let _me _introduce you!" A mocking voice suggests.

_He sprouted from Crona's back. I can see how he would be considered male and why he isn't considered human. He's tiny with a black body, gloved hands (which are in a ball form), and little round muscles on his shoulders. He also seems to have little spikes on his back. His face consists of an egg shape, with no visible mouth and a giant white X on his face where his nose should be, with large ping-pong ball-like eyes with Xs for pupils._

"No Ragnarok! You promised me that you wouldn't come today!" Crona complained, now with a paranoid expression and voice.

"Well I lied! It's obvious that you can't introduce yourself to this pretty lady!" _A funny one…_

"Listen to me ya foo'! Learn! Stop being stupid!" Ragnarok teases Crona while poking his nose.

"Hey! Leave my nose alone!" Crona protested.

"Shut it you noodle!" Noodle?

"Ragnarok! Stop being mean! We have to get going!" Maka stepped in and persuaded.

"I do _not_ take orders from you! You dirty cow!" Ragnarok taunted.

"Why you little…" Maka threatened.

"Whatcha gonna do? Sit on me!"

That did it for Maka. Next thing I know she was strangling Ragnarok with one hand, while the other hand held a random book (where did it come from?).

Crona didn't do much about the situation. He just stood there looking to his side with a worried expression on his face.

Apparently Ragnarok didn't like this. He screamed at his meister, "You're just gonna stand there and let this cow strangle me? Be a good puppet and help me! Or I'll fling your dress again…"

"No you pervert!" Crona started getting paranoid again. It seems like Ragnarok doesn't joke around.

I just stood there watching all this commotion. I looked at Adriana who was staring at the floor, deep in thought.

I walked up to her and asked, "Hey what's wrong?" I'm still MAD at her about leaving me! But…! Eh…whatever.

"I'm… confused," she looked up at me and raised an eyebrow. Now _I'm _confused. I thought she was gonna be all depressed and gloomy, but instead she's _confused?_

"Why?"

"Because… Come closer!" She was motioning me to get closer. So she could tell me a secret. "_It's about… Crona…"_

"What about him?"

"See! That's the problem! Why do people assume that 'he' is a guy?"

"I don't get it…"

"Does Crona look like a guy to you?" she asked, pissed.

"Uh… Yeah…?"

"But—but!" she groaned and took me farther from the commotion that was on the other side.

"Crona doesn't look like a guy to _me!" _Adriana complained.

"Well… he _is! _So deal with it!"

"But—doesn't he look like a girl too?"

"No…" I shake my head.

"Look at him more closely!"

It was hard to look straight at his face from the position I was in. But I managed to see it. It looks like a guys face! Once I asked my science teacher how you can tell the difference between a boy and a girl without looking at the hair or clothing or privates. She told me by the face. That guys faces were longer than girl's faces.

I could see how Adriana would question his gender. I mean… the man is wearing a dress, or robe, or whatever you want to call it! I guess the hair can also send a girly vibe. In his case, his hair's pink.

"Look! Crona's a guy. Just because he wears a dress-robe-thing and has pink hair, doesn't mean that he's a girl," I explain to her. I hope that she'll understand…

"But—! You're the one that said that you can't tell a person's gender by looking at their appearance. But… That you have to look at their privates!" she yelled.

"Scream that louder! Why don't you!" I wish she would stop. Seriously, if he heard that… "Anyways, what are you gonna do? Ask Crona to strip for you?" I ask sarcastically.

"… I was hoping that _you _would ask him…" Then the little devil, laughs innocently.

That's it. Tonight she will receive a very cold surprise…

"Hey guys c'mon! The rest of the gang is probably growing impatient again!" I turn my head to see Maka waving her hand side to side.

Aw! I wanted to see who would win the fight! I walk over to them and ask, "Who won the fight?"

"What fight?" Maka asked.

"The fight between you and Ragnarok…?"

"Oh! That one…!" Maka paused. And triumphantly declared, "I won that battle! HA-HA-HA!"

Ragnarok was not on Crona's back anymore. Did he just like… go back inside his body or something?

"But seriously we need to go." With that said, Maka started running over to the others.

Adriana didn't want to be alone with me and Crona, so she decided to run with Maka.

I look over at Crona. He has his right hand on his left elbow. Maka was right! This guy is very shy!

I avoid eye contact and start walking forward. After a few paces, I could hear his footsteps starting to follow mine.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Awkward chapter, but a few things are introduced, such as the iDeath, and um… that's it! I do not own either the "Best day ever" song or the "This is Halloween" song. Again, character descriptions are from the Soul Eater wikia website. I'm simply too lazy to come up with my own descriptions, and the wikia descriptions are the most descriptive... But things are going to be revealed in the next chapter with a special little character along the way, she's very important to the plot! So, yeah... Thank you for reading.


	4. A New Villian

**Author's Note: **There is some minor violence and some curse words, but nothing serious.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.**

* * *

"Wow! This place looks awesome! We didn't have festivals like this back in Carson City!" Adriana yells out, with stars in her eyes. She turns to looks at me. "Right… Mary…?"

"Uh… right!" I just want to use the restroom.

"So! Let's stop standing around here like a bunch of idiots and have some fun!" Black Star decided to scream out.

With that said, everyone started to run off in separate directions. I turn around. The only one here is Crona… again.

I can't believe Adriana left me a third time! How dare she? She could've at least asked me to go with her!

Wait! Now I see why she didn't ask me to go with her. That little devil is sucking up to Liz and Patty. I know her plan… She's going to make friends with those two; like that she can visit their house and get into Kid's pants! Well… not literally…

"WAAAAAAAHHHHH! I WANT MY MOMMY! MOM!" I jump, surprised, and turn around, to see this little girl holding on to Crona's leg and bawling.

I have to do something… even though it's not my problem; I still have to do something!

I walk up to her and bend down, "Hey. What's wrong?" Even though it's obvious! I try to comfort her.

"My mommy… she disappeared!" She started sniffling at me.

"It's okay. We'll find her!" I am so good with children. I give her thumbs up and face Crona.

He's in shock, well, I would be too, if a little girl decides to randomly grab my leg and screech. "Hey. Wanna help me find the little girl's mother?" I need help after all… and I also want to spend time with him…

"O-Okay…" He looks down, bites his lip, and blushes.

I don't know what to make of that. I can't jump to conclusions.

"C'mon little girl, take my hand and we'll begin looking for your mommy. K?" I reach my hand towards her and she takes it.

* * *

"Miss…?" The little girl captures my attention.

"Yeah…? What is it?"

"Can you make him hold my hand?" she pleads while pointing at Crona.

"Sure." I raise my head up and look at Crona. "Crona!"

"Huh? What—?" He snaps back into reality and looks at me.

"Do you mind holding the little girls hand?"

"… Ok," he hesitates to reach for the girls' hand. After a few seconds he manages to hold her hand with his finger.

"Do you guys, mind swinging me back and forward? My mommy and daddy use to do it."

I shrug. "Uh… I don't mind! Crona do you?" I look over at him again. It really seems like he's somewhere else… not even paying attention to the current problem.

"No." He sighs. "I don't…"

At 'three' both Crona and I swing the girls little body forward. She laughed and giggled while we continued doing the same routine.

* * *

When I grew tired and stopped the process, she started complaining and whining. Even trying to coax her down didn't work. Then, _she_ got _tired! _So, Crona and I had to take turns carrying her. And most of the time _I _had to carry her, because Crona kept saying that he didn't know how to "interact" with her.

After about an hour later I finally yell, "Ok! Now we're in an alley! (How strange) So, tell me, little girl where was the last time that you saw your mother again?"

The little girl took a few steps forward and started to laugh. "He-he-he-he-he-he-he… Mommy doesn't exist…"

"What?" This little girl is so creepy.

"I can't believe you two fell for such an old trick!" Suddenly the little girl turns around and transforms into a grown woman.

_She's fairly tall, voluptuous woman. She has blue eyes and long red wavy maroon hair, which stretches down to her waist, and fair skin with a beauty-mark under the left side of her lip._

Holy _salchicha_! "Who are _you_?" I question.

"I'm Cruella! Haven't you heard of me?" She flung her hair with her hand dramatically.

"No…" I don't know why she's asking me, I've only been here for about two days.

"What? But I'm popular! Hasn't your little school talked about me?" …Again with the hair flinging.

"No…" I turn to Crona. "Has DWMA ever talked about her?"

"No…" Crona responds simply.

I turn back to Cruella, "What was the point of dragging us all the way here?"

"Hehe… I wanted to see how powerful Medusa's child is… and _you,"_ she looks at me in an enlightened way (again I say, _creepy_). "You're the last survivor of the Crescent Moon Paracosmic Clan… aren't you?"

"The _what_? What are you talking about?" Crescent Moon Paracosmic clan…? Its official, she's crazy!

"You don't know who your family is? Ha-ha!" She continued laughing for a few seconds but then examined my face again. "Wait… you're not joking are you?"

"Of course I'm not! My name is Mary Roman! Maybe you're confused and looking for some other girl!" I look over at Crona. She did mention him as well. …Something about being the child of Medusa?

A picture of the lady with snakes in her hair appears in my mind. No… it couldn't be _that _Medusa… could it? Crona doesn't look like the son of the type of creature. Also, isn't that Medusa dead or something? Not that I have read Greek mythology anyway. She couldn't have had a child. She turned everyone who looked at her into stone! Really, there is no possibility!

Crona looked beyond frightened. He's shivering and his teeth are chattering with such great force. The poor guy! He looks like he's going to pass out! I wonder why though… I'm so confused!

"Crona… Are you ok?" I have to knock some words into him! He's the only one here who has his weapon. _My_ weapon went to suck up to Liz and Patty. _His_ weapon can't really… leave him.

Crona kept shaking violently. Oh Josh this is bad! This is _really, really, REALLY bad! _If I don't do something… correction! If _we _don't do something we're going to be killed!

"Ha-ha! The child of Medusa scared? I guess the rumors were true. Medusa's plans didn't work out because her child is a big scared-y cat!" She laid her hands on her stomach, threw herself back and began to laugh. Just like Santa Claus…

"Listen you human!" Wow, what a great comeback… "Let's just forget this ever happened, ok?"

She rocked her head back and pointed one of her long fingers at me. "No. I came here to abduct both of you! With both of your souls my collection will expand and I will become the most powerful witch in the world! Surpassing Arachne and Medusa! I will be the best!" After throwing that small speech she looked at us again.

"I'm not gonna run away now when I have this perfect opportunity."

She looks over at Crona. "Since, the child of Medusa is obviously not gonna do anything I'll just—!" She was cut off by her own motion. She was about to stab Crona right in the chest when…

I get in the way!

**THWUMP!**

Oh that hurt! (Well, what did you expect genius?)

Instead I get hit in the chest and fall to the floor, coughing up blood in the process. But… there something weird about my blood… It's… black? My blood is black!

Am I high? Is that what's happening? Maybe I'm going crazy… It would explain a lot actually…

Falling to the floor on my knees, I stay there trying very hard to breathe in oxygen. I need to get back up and keep defending Crona. Like those superheros in the movie… Heh-heh… oh I'm going to die a virgin.

"What's this? The last survivor protecting this worthless child…?" _Such a mocking voice…_ "This is hilarious! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! To think this is actually happening! Oh! Why didn't I bring a video camera?" She cackles a few more laughs and announces, "This is cute and all but you have to go…" With that, she kicked me to the side with such great force, that I hit the alley's hard bricked wall. Again I cough up the same black, mysterious blood.

I lay against the wall looking half-dead. It isn't because I'm so weak… it's because she's so _strong that it's not even funny! _That woman has a lot of power!

"Ugh…" I moan and try getting up by leaning my hand against the wall. I almost make it up when my feet are knocked from the floor. _That bitch._ I hit the floor again and my head makes a loud _thud _with the ground.

Well this just _bites._

Before I lose consciousness I hear a terrified voice screech, "Mary!"

What? Can't you see I'm almost dead? Now, let me die in peace….

...I'm coming Sally.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Yay, a new villain is revealed, and it's a pretty witch! And the clan-thing will be explained on chapter seven. Gee, I wonder if Mary will live. Something to add: those little comments in parenthesis? Those are just Mary's own side-comments, just to clear that up. Anyways thank you for reading!


	5. Hospital

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

* * *

Just like in all dramatic movies, the girl wakes up by lifting her eye little by little. She's greeted by the windows golden light. As if it's a miracle that she awoke from her slumber. Usually by her side is her mom or dad or her best friend, holding her hand and sleeping… waiting for her to wake up. Finally even the slightest move the girl makes, whoever is beside her wakes up and hugs the girl. The parent or friend cries and the girl usually have a serious look on her face because she can't really remember what happened, or why she's at the hospital.

Someone would believe that's how I woke up… right? WRONG!

I tried waking up by opening my eye little by little like in the movies, but I couldn't. You want to know why? Because the supposed golden light (which was just the Sun's normal rays) kept stinging my eyes, and I couldn't wake up dramatically. The throbbing in my head didn't help open my eyes either. It actually hurt to do so.

And that person who's supposed to be next to you? Well it wasn't my mom or Robert (thank Josh!) It was Adriana! I guess she would be considered the "best friend." She wasn't holding my hand. Instead this beautiful look-alike-angel was drooling on my bed! She didn't even bother holding my hand! And we have watched so many movies with those dramatic hospital scenes! She should know better!

But it's sweet of her to stay in this hospital. (But if I find out that the only reason she stayed here is because Kid is in the hospital, I will pummel her!) As I look around the room I spot one more person.

He's asleep in a rolling chair. His arms are dangling from the side and his head is resting on his shoulder… It's so sweet for Crona to sleep there! I hope he doesn't feel guilty about what happened… because that's obviously not the case!

I look around the room. Huh, it's only Adriana and Crona. I shrug.

I look back at Adriana whose still sleeping. How long have these two been here? How long have I been asleep? And what happened to that lady? Ugh… what was her name? Marissa…? I don't know.

The images (from whenever long ago it was) came back to me. I wonder… did Crona defeat her?

Should I wake Adriana up? Nah... If I do she'll be all like, "Oh God! You're awake! Dude I was so worried about you! I mean I was about to talk to Kid when all of the sudden Crona appears and says that you're hurt! So we all have to rush to the hospital to help your little head! It _is_ little because it seems that you don't have a brain! Why didn't you call me? You knew that you didn't have a chance without my awesomeness there to protect you!" (I'm guessing she'll say that. I don't know what actually happened). Then she'll go on and on and on. Her shrieking would wake up Crona and right now I can't deal with whatever he's gonna say.

I guess right now I have to…

**Knock, Knock**

That knock makes me jump. But that's not who it only wakes up. Adriana flinches, wakes up and walks up to the door like a zombie. She looks so tired and dreary. She didn't even bother checking to see if I was asleep, dead, or alive! How great is she?

"Oh hi Maka…" I can hear Adriana greet Maka at the door.

"Hey, is she ok? Has she woken up yet?" I can hear Maka whispering at Adriana.

"No, not yet..." She pauses for a brief second then confesses, "I'm kinda worried though... it's been _three days _Maka!" She suddenly breaks down in tears. "I'm afraid that she's not going to wake up!" I can hear her crying and sniffling. Oh Josh… Poor Adriana was really worried about me…

"It's going to be ok…" Maka told her, barely a whisper. "Dr. Stein said that she's going to wake up soon."

"I… don't… know…" Adriana cut her own words with her violent chokes.

That's it. _I can't take it anymore… _I call out, "Adriana?"

I can hear gasps and Adriana practically trips on her way to my bed. "Oh God! …Mary!" She hugs me by the neck and starts crying again. I guess she _did _learn how to do it right. Thank you, movies.

"It's ok…" I gently pat her back.

"I'll go call Dr. Stein!" Maka announced with a smile on her face. I smile back… I'm kinda glad that I didn't die… At least, not without telling everyone how much I love them.

_I had been asleep for three days, and after I woke up, my friends arrived and kept me company. Other students, such as Kim and Jacqueline, arrived as well. Some sent notes, others sent flowers, but either way, that doesn't matter because… It was freaky! Call me a bad sport, but I just believe that receiving notes and flowers from strangers is weird, but then again this is Death City._

_Three days ago I learned many things and asked many questions in such a few adrenaline pumping minutes. (1) Something about me originating from the Crescent Moon Paracosmic Clan. (2) Crona being Medusas child. (3) Why does Crona have a weapon connected to him? And why was he so scared when he faced Marissa? (4) My mom lied to me. She lied about where I come from. I don't care what she says; I'm going to figure out the truth!_

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yes, I know, in the list of things Mary wants to find out she forgot to add as to why she has black blood, or rather does she actually _have _black blood. The reason it wasn't added is because she forgot. You see, Mary has a rather terrible memory, in which she can barely recall simple facts or names, such as Cruella... she just called her "Marissa". But don't worry, I'll point out the facts that she forgot. Anyways, expect other characters to be revealed in the next chapter! Thank you for reading!


	6. The Chain

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater****.**

* * *

Today is Saturday! Today is also the day that I will find the answers to all my questions!

Hopefully…

First question: What is the Crescent Moon Paracosmic Clan? And why did Marissa say that I was the last known survivor?

That's why I'm in DWMA's _huge_ library! When I enter I walk over to the guy behind the counter.

"Hello there," it's time to play nice.

"Oh hello there young lady…! What can I do for you?" he plays nice back.

"Do you have any books about the Crescent Moon Paracosmic Clan?"

"Yes!" He clamps both his abnormally large hands.

"Can you show me where they are?"

"No!"

"What, why?"

"Here let me show ya!" He takes out this black board that he keeps under his desk(?) and starts explaining, "The books here are divided into four categories: Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4. Meisters up to Two Stars in rank can have access to Level 1 books, but cannot have access to Level 2 books, which can be read by Three Star Meisters. Level 3 books can only be accessed by staff and the highest rank, Level 4, can only be available to Senior Meisters or Death Scythes."

After all that I ask, "So… why can't you show me?"

He sweat-drops and answers, "Because… the book you want is only for Senior Meisters and Death Scythes." He pauses and looks at me suspiciously, "Do you even _have _a library card?"

Well! I'm offended! Does he think I'm a hobo or something?

I take out my library card and hand it over to him, "Of _course _I do!"

He takes it and looks at it closely. He announces, "Sorry! You're a Level 1! The books _you _can access are here in the bottom level." He motions around the library.

So… only Senior Meisters and Death Scythes…? "Ok thank you for your time!" I take my card from his hand and walk out of the library.

Great a new mission: Time to find a person who can check out that book!

* * *

"Nope!" Black Star replies with such a carefree expression. He has both of his hands behind his head. And Tsubaki is behind him holding a basketball.

I came all the way to this basketball court, interrupted a game, feeling like a stalker and the only answer Black Star has is: 'Nope!' I don't think so!

"Are you sure?" I'm so desperate…

"Yep! You can ask Dr. Stein," he flashes me a thumbs up.

"Thanks Black Star…"

Well! That was a waste of my excellent tracking skills… give or take that I spent an hour searching for them…

* * *

"Sorry I can't," with the same type of rolling chair that Crona slept on, he rides himself freely around the room like a little kid.

_Dr. Stein is a tall man with silver-gray hair and big, round glasses. He has a large screw going through his head. He has zigzag stitches on his face and clothing. He's wearing a doctor's lab coat._

"But… Why?" Black Star said that he could help me!

"If the book is in the Level 4 section that means kids like you can't read them," he calmly explains, now writing on a piece of paper.

"But, it's not like I'm gonna use the information for evil! Marissa said that I was the last survivor of that clan! I want to know what she's talking about!" I really do!

"Try asking one of your friends…" Weird… He didn't even ask me who Marissa was… it's probably because that's not even her real name.

"I did! I talked to Black Star and he told me to ask you."

"Why don't you go ask Death the Kid or something?"

"Thank you…" I bow my head and stomp out of the Dispensary.

It's time to find Kid!

* * *

"What!" This is an outrage!

"Sorry but Kid's off on a mission!" I was having a little chat with Lord Death. After searching for Kid and failing, I went over to Lord Death's little weird place to ask him where his son was.

_Lord Death has the most eccentric appearance out of everywhere I have met so far. His name is really ironic… He's also one of the tallest I have met so far. He's wearing a black robe with many jagged edges which appears to house his arms and covers his entire body with his face being covered by a cartoonish skull._

He's asymmetrical… I wonder if Kid has a problem with that…? Nah! It's his dad, 'course not!

"Aw!" I bowed my head down in despair. Great Black Star can't help me, Dr. Stein can't help me, and Kid's not here to help me.

"Why do you want to know if he was here?" Lord Death questions while bouncing around. Wow… his name is so ironic.

"Because…" I started explaining for the third time.

After I finish my little story he responds: "Ah! I see! Well sorry that Kid isn't here to help you."

I stare at him, with a pissed off expression on my face. "Aren't you gonna help me or give me advice?"

"Oh! Well I can't help you sorry!" He takes out his huge white hands, turns them to the side and shakes his head.

Mother of Josh! I've wasted my tracking skills again! "Do you know anyone who _can?"_

"Why don't you go and ask some of your friends?" he cocks his head to the side.

I bow respectfully and thank him. When I exit the Academy completely, I scream in rage.

* * *

I have reached the point of entering hysteria. I just came here to visit Crona and now I'm all lost and confused. Why, oh why, didn't I go visit Maka first?

He apparently lives in one of these rooms that are in a place called the, "Visitor's Residence."

When I read the DWMA's brochure, it said that the Visitor's Residence is: "Located in the underground of DWMA, where visitors of DWMA can stay. Since it is underground, the rooms slightly lack a home-like atmosphere, with stone walls, a bed and table and a basin as well as a barred window." Must be cozy…

The lady at the desk told me that Crona's room was in the left side of the stairs. So naturally I go up the stairs and then… get lost. I should've just gone back, but of course I had to have a little "Black Star" moment and be all like, "Forget this! These confusing halls won't stop me! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I laugh in the face of danger!" Last time _I'll _ever try to be like Black Star!

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I jump when I hear a woman's voice.

Are there ghosts in here too? Gulp.

"Hello? I heard footsteps, is anyone here?" the ghost questions again.

The footsteps get closer and closer. What do _I_ do? You ask. I just stand there with my legs shaking. You better not pee on yourself!

Who on earth am I threatening? Josh, sometimes I wonder… maybe, just maybe, a ladybug entered my ear when I was young and then—

"Umm… are you ok?" I didn't even notice that the ghost is already in front of me!

_She has large, caramel eyes, and long blonde hair. She's wearing her hair loosely with no bangs, and it forms a zigzag pattern on her head. She's wearing a black dress with a large, golden, zigzag pattern in the front from the waist down. It seems that parts of the dress are made of a different fabric. These parts are located on the long sleeves of the dress from the elbows down, and a part below the chest that resembles a gurtle-like shape. She uses a pair of white, high-heel shoes that also appear to have a zigzag pattern on them. Finally, her most iconic piece of clothing is her large, left eye patch._

"Oh," I put down my hands which were protecting my face. I dumbly remark, "Oh… you're human…."

She closes her right eye and laughs, "Yeah I am!"

"…" I wait till she finishes laughing.

"So what are you doing here?"

"I got lost…" 'Cause I'm cool like that! (Yeah right…)

"Are you trying to find your room?"

"No my mom's at home." Why would she ask me about my mom?

A look of confusion flashes across her face then she replies, "… I said _room,"_ she smiles at me.

"Oh! My bad I heard 'mom'! Hehe!" I rub the back of my head. Yep, it was probably a ladybug…

After some silence I finally tell her, "No, I'm trying to find someone's room."

"Oh! Who's room?" She leans forward and puts her hand on her hips.

"Crona's…?" Does she know who Crona is?

"Oh! Are you one of Crona's friends?" Apparently she does!

"Yeah…!" _I guess. It's never been established._

"Alright let me show you where his room is." She walks where she came from and motions me over.

"Thank you!" She's such a nice human!

_1 Hour Later_

"Hehe… Sorry about that!" We are both gasping for air and holding on to our knees. This human's tracking skills are worse than mine are! … She's so awesome!

"It's okay," I get up and look at the door. "Are you sure this is Crona's room?" I don't want to interrupt a random person's life… Actually, I kinda do…. It was definitely a ladybug!

"Oh yeah… Most definitely…!" She gets up and knocks on the door. "Crona…? Are you in there? It's me Marie!"

"Ha…" I laugh silently. She looks at me in an odd way.

"Oh! Sorry it's just that you said, 'It's me, Marie' and that rhymes," I explain to her. She just keeps looking at me in an odd way, so I just cut off the conversation by saying, "I'll just shut up now…" It's time to think about dolphins, and human centipedes!

The door silently opens. I hear a quiet voice saying, "Yes?"

"Hey Crona…! I have a special friend here who wants to see you!" Marie takes both her hands and points at me. Yay, I'm special! …Hey, wait a minute!

"Oh…" He opens the door all the way now. When he sees my face he just stares. After a shocked look comes across his face he blushes. Late reaction! (They're so wonderful…)

"Hi, Crona," I greet. Waving my hand and smiling.

"Oh…" He smiles shyly and greets back, "Hi…" I love that smile, it makes me feel all nice inside… like my mom's famous chocolate cake… Mm, chocolate…

"Is that the best you can do! You nincompoop!" Ragnarok once again sprouts from Crona's back and starts poking at his face. Wow… that was an amazing insult! I should use it!

"Ragnarok stop it!" Crona complains.

"No! I spend the past few days teaching you how to talk to pretty women and _this _is the result of all my hard work!" Now Ragnarok was pinching Crona's cheeks and pulling them apart. I remember when my grandma did that to me… I hated it.

"I'm sorry! I—I panicked!"

"That's it! I'm going to fling your dress!" Ragnarok threatened… again. Will he ever accomplish it? Stay tune to find out!

"No! Don't! Not _now_! Ow! Stop pinching my nose! You're bruising it!" Crona complained his face still red.

"Marie…" I started calling out for her but she had already disappeared. Wow… she disappeared! She must be a magician! I love Death City: it has perfectionist, loud ninja's, nice people, cool people, ambiguous humans, random children, ironic gods, random witches, crazy doctors, and magicians!

Great! Now _how _am I supposed to stop these two from fighting? Maka just started strangling Ragnarok… I'm not gonna do that… It's far too dangerous. I might fracture something… like an organ!

"Um… guys?"

The fighting keeps going.

"Guys…?"

Still keeps going.

"Please stop fighting…" I plead with a nervous smile.

More pinching and grabbing…

"I came here to ask Crona a question," I explain with a louder tone.

This sentence caught Ragnarok's attention. "Oh…" Ragnarok smiles(?) and says, "Then I'll leave you two alone…" He replies in a mocking voice and goes back inside of Crona.

"What is it?" Crona shyly asks, whilst blushing. He holds his left shoulder with his right hand… I shall name that, zee Shy Pose!

"Do you know anyone who can get me a book that's on Level 4 in the library?"

"Oh… that's why you came here?"

"Yeah…?" Why else? Was he expecting some cookies?

"Oh… well you can ask Marie; she's a death scythe." He points to the right where Marie could've taken off to. "She's very nice, I'm sure if you asked her she could help you get the book." It seems that he has a lot of respect towards Marie… That's cute!

"Oh! Thanks Crona!" I smile at him.

He just looks up from the floors direction and smiles, "Yeah…" He nods for some reason and his face glows red again.

Must. Not. Jump. To. Conclusions! Even though it's fun!

Some awkward silence passes by…

"Hey…"

"Hm?" He looks up from the floor. "What is it?"

"Do you know what the capital of Norway is?"

"Uh…" Startled expression. "I c-can't recall f-from the top of my head…"

"It's okay! Neither can I!" Ok, another question. "Do you like mangos?"

"A-Actually I've n-never tried them before…"

Le gasp! He's joking right? No mangos! "But… they're beautiful! Crona, you must try some!"

"O-Ok…"

"Now."

"N-Now…?"

"Yes, now, it's a crime… not to have tried mangos."

"Uh…"

"I'm sorry, did I creep you out? I happen to do that a lot." It's true, simply ask Adriana!

"N-No," he shakes his head and blushed deeply again. "It's fine…"

"Good…" I smile. And sniff twice. "Hey, are you a b—?"

"I'm back~!" A voice shouts from down the hall.

I snap by head to the direction the voice came from.

Marie emerges from the shadows and explains in a rush, "Sorry for leaving you two alone! It's just that I wanted to go to the teacher's office to quickly get some coffee! And then when I tried to return I find myself lost again! Very sorry, I hope you two will forgive me!" She bows her head down.

"It's okay Marie. At least this time you found your way a lot faster!" I smile at her. I need to ask her. It's now or never.

"Marie…" I call out.

"Yes?" She's still breathing hard. Did she run to get here?

"I have a question…"

"Here you go!" Marie hands me the giant brown leathered book.

"You got it! Yes! Thank you so much!" I feel the books skin. It… Feels… _Old… _Like my grandma's butt… Now that I've ever touched it: that would be gross.

"No problem! If you need anything else just give me a call ok?" Before she runs off I call her over again. "What's the problem?"

Well, I can't give you a call without your number. "Can I have your number?" I ask her with my iDeath in my hand. This is embarrassing! It could just be me or the thought of asking a grown woman for her phone number when you're a child is embarrassing…

After we exchange numbers she runs off towards the schools direction. Is that where she _wants _to go? Well that doesn't matter now, getting lost always brings adventures! Now I have the book that I spent half my day trying to get.

It's time to read!

* * *

**Author's Note: **Yes, Mary is still calling Cruella "Marissa". *Sigh* Sorry if it bothers, but she'll come-to eventually… Mary is revealed in this chapter to be either incredibly random, or incredibly annoying with her random questions, and ladybug tales. And some other characters have been revealed such as Stein, Lord Death, and Marie. If you're wondering, Mary _was _about to ask Crona if he's male or female… why, you ask? I dunno… maybe it was the ladybug… O.o …Thanks for reading!


	7. The Truth

**Author's Note: **This is an extremely important chapter, with a lot of reveals! Hope you enjoy it.

On a side note… Thank you, "Guest" for my second review! …Oh, I'm pathetic. Anywho, thank you for your kind review! I'm so happy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

* * *

I finished reading the entire book! It took me only a couple of minutes, but I managed.

It turns out that my mother Rebecca isn't from the CMPC (Crescent Moon Paracosmic Clan) but that my dad _is. _Since in clans everyone has common traits, I was suppose to get both my dad's_ and_ mom's looks.

When I eventually told Rebecca I found out that I'm from a clan, her eyes widened, she looked around at both sides nervously (dunno why, Adriana and Robert were out to the mall) and ushered me into her room to talk in private.

She started off by telling me that she's not my real mom... What a great way to start a conversation!

Turns out, my dad's weapon partner (who I always thought was just my dad's cousin) is my mom! It makes sense now! I mean I always saw them laughing… and at times I saw them look at each other very romantically… and the lack of communication between my father and Rebecca.

My real mother, Daisy, had my same red brick hair and dark turquoise green eyes. I never really ever talked to her. I always thought she was just _there. _Now it all connects! All those times that she talked to me…. I never suspected that she was my actual mother. Her personality was nice and gentle….

I remember... When I asked my dad about my one crescent moon, he'd tell me that I was special and that it only happened to me. Well, I don't know if he thought I was blind or stupid, but I could see that he also had crescent moons on his eyes. And so did my real mom. Now I know _why _I only have one.

The CMPC is a clan that was feared and very powerful back in The Grim Times. All the members of the clan are first born with one crescent moon, that crescent moon represents the birth of their "world". Their "world" is what it sounds: a world that is mentally created. Our parents teach us from a young age to be creative and think about our "world", normally these kids already know about their clan and their power, I didn't. So when my father asked me to create, write, and describe my "world" in a journal, I simply thought it was some sort of creative exercise.

The second crescent moon allows a member to trap a victim inside the world (eye contact must be made), in which anything can be done to them, but they're kept inside only for a limited time… depends on willpower, though.

The third crescent moon allows _numerous _victims to be trapped, one-at-a-time, of course. The book notes that there's an ability unlocked: the ability to _physically force _your world to whatever location you may be in. It's self explanatory.

The fourth crescent moon allows a member to actually _keep _the victim, or victims. And you can do pretty much whatever you want with them, obviously it depends on what you may have in your world—you can also kill them. And if you want, you can extract them from your world if you grow bored, or whatever.

The fifth crescent moon is located on the right eye, the same position that the first crescent moon is on; it has the power to transport items from your world to the real world. But only items, and it could be more than one… but one-at-a-time. I want to transport some cake, but, of course, I can't do anything… yet.

The sixth crescent moon has the power to transport any creature from your world to the real one. One-at-a-time, though.

The seventh is considered useless by the book, it has the ability for another member to see into another member's world, as well as trap another fellow CMPC member in their world as well.

The eight, and final, crescent moon… the book doesn't know! It literally says, _"We are sorry. There have been no members to unlock the eight crescent moon, so no one knows what power it may have. There's a myth, though, that if a member unlocks the eight crescent moon, they are teleported into their own world._

_How _you would obtain another crescent moon, is complicated. CMPC is a whole clan, but everyone has a different bloodline, hence why they can reproduce amongst themselves. The book says that in order to gain a crescent moon, the member must experience a _change _in their life… It's pretty vague actually.

My dad only had 4 on his left eye, and so did my mom. Rebecca is actually my mother's sister! So technically that means that Robert isn't my step-dad! Hurra!

After a while of informing me about the relationship between my dad and my mom, and their own secret life, I grew curious to know something else….

All this new information begged the question: "Why did you pose as my mom for all these years, Rebecca?"

She looked grim, she had been confessing to so much that her eyes were bloodshot, her nose was running, and she was still crying. Either way she hoarsely whispered, "I'm sorry to say… but… Your dad never made it clear as to the reason as to why I had to pose as your mother since the beginning…" She took a shaky breath. "All he told me was… 'It's for her own safety…. Just please do it Rebecca… Do it for your niece…'" Her eyes narrowed as her mind became fogged with the memory.

"That's all?" I asked grimly.

She took a staggered breath. "Y-yeah… Pretty much…"

"No other reason?"

"He also said that the truth would be revealed to you when the time is right."

That's when I snapped. I shot up from the couch and screamed at her. "'When the time is right?'" I roared. "This isn't a freaking movie! My life isn't some sort of density, and legacy bullshit! Tell me what else he said! Tell me why you played as my damn mother!"

Rebecca looked up at me stunned. "Mary… I—" She sighed and looked down. "I can't tell you…. I don't even know myself. I swear that's all the words your father uttered."

"What about my sister?" I spoke as my teeth clenched.

Rebecca looked up surprised. I hadn't talked about my sister since her death. "What about her?"

"Was her death a lie too?"

"…" A long and uncomfortable silence took place in the tensioning atmosphere of the living room.

"You're such a freaking liar," I stated with a smile.

"Mary, I—"

"No, no," I giggled. "You're a bitch; I hope you know that…. If you're already telling me the truth about my _mother,_" I looked up in sheer fury."Then why can't you tell me the truth about my own damn sister?"

No words escaped her mouth. She simply looked down and drooped her eyelids, she looked pained… as if she has the whole world in her damn shoulders.

"Well?"

No response.

"Fine," I spat. "_Don't _tell me."

With that I allowed my anger to take complete control of me. It gave me the energy to storm all the way to my room. But once I slammed that door with all my rage… The anger disappeared. It disappeared, shattered, left… Now it was replaced with sadness, worry, disappointment, and depression.

I spent some time (an hour maybe?) crying and reminiscing about the day when all my household members went with the police to search for Sally. My dad had told me to stay inside, but when the sun started sinking and no news arrived, I decided to get my white jacket and a flashlight, and start looking for Sally on my own.

I went to the right side of the forest, where the police hadn't searched yet…. I was shining my flashlight everywhere and when I saw a leg… I looked up and shone the flashlight on Sally's motionless, hanged body. The snickering moon in the background… was reflecting its moonlight on her corpse… it only screwed the image in my head even more. I dropped my flashlight and took off running…. I found my house after running and running… I barged the door open and called out in a shrieking and terrified voice… _"She's dead! She's been hanged! Mom, dad, help!"_

* * *

I'm aware that I have to apologize to Rebecca. It was completely my fault that I went insane and yelled and insulted her…. It's not even her fault. She was telling me the truth and it really tormented her.

I hate my personality.

I say _one _mean thing to a person, and I immediately feel guilty afterwards. So, when I can't take the guilt anymore, I find them and apologize….

When I finished weeping, I escaped my room, and went to Rebecca's room to find her sitting on the edge of her bed, softly sobbing.

I went towards her and said, "Hey."

She looked up in surprise and smiled up at me, "Hi."

Her smile only made me feel w_orse. _I sat down next to her. When I worked up the courage to apologize, I started talking. "Hey listen… Rebecca."

"Hm?"

"I'm, uh… I'm _really _sorry…. You know, about yelling and insulting you… I really didn't mean that… I was just _mad."_

"Oh sweetie," she puts her hand on my shoulder. I look up at her. She's _smiling. _She continues to smile. "It's alright. I can understand why you were upset." She starts pouting and playing with my hair. "You've had so much to deal with in the past, and it's alright for you to want to know the truth… You don't have to be sorry…"

"Yes, y-yes I do! I mean I called you—well," I drop my gaze, "you know…"

She blankly stares at me. "Hm?" She breaks into a smile. "Oh that! Oh don't worry about _that! _You're human, you just lost control for a couple of minutes, it's fine, and I'm not going to hold it against you!"

She ruffled my hair. This just, as imagined, turns a few strands up.

"Oops, sorry!" She realizes what she's made, and fixes it. "I forget that you're hair isn't like Sally's…"

The mention of Sally's name drops the temperature of the room. Sally… I don't understand her death at all. I shake my head at the sight that clouded my vision. The police labeled it as suicide. But of course, that wasn't the case. Sally didn't know what suicide was, she never left with a rope, and she was afraid of heights, so she'd never climb a tree.

I don't get it. I've chose to ignore it all these years, but after my parent's deaths… I grimly wonder….

I snap out of my reverie, it's not the time to think about this. I place my hand on Rebecca's shoulder. She looks up at me. "Hey don't worry," I tell her with an encouraging smile. "_I'm _still around."

She starts tearing up. "T-That's right," she sniffs with a warm smile. "_You're _still around Mary, and I'm happy—hic—about that." She hugs me. "And as long as I have _you, _this world is still worth living in."

I hug her back, and smile. "Thanks Rebecca."

After my apology was accepted, we both walked downstairs to the kitchen and made ourselves some popcorn and chocolate milk.

Then we went to the living room and watch a comedy movie.

But the comedy movie sucked; so half of the time I was talking to her about school, my friends, my classes, Adriana's obsession with Kid, Crona and my premature crush on him, how Adriana thought Crona's a girl, some of the weird teachers, Lord Death, and, who could forget, Excalibur!

_Excalibur, Excalibur_

_From the United Kingdom_

_I'm looking for heaven_

_I'm going to California_

_Excalibur, Excalibur_

_From the United Kingdom_

_I'm looking for heaven_

_I'm going to California_

_Excalibur_

_Excalibur_

_Excalibur!_

Yeah… let's just say I got another book at the library.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Wow… Mary has a temper… well when it comes to dead siblings and parents, I guess it's acceptable. A lot of foreshadowing has occurred, but the plot won't be leaving the station yet… A lot of other relationships will have to grow first. But it won't be a waste, don't worry!

If you're thinking, "How can Mary possibly think that Rebecca was her mother when her actual mother looked a lot like her?" Well, this lie was told to Mary at a young age, so she grew accustomed to believing that her father's wife was actually his cousin, hence the looks, and it will make more sense when Sally becomes a three-dimensional character.

Sorry if I got the Excalibur lyrics wrong. I'm just following how _Funimation _did it.

I hope you all like the CMPC; it was influenced by the song "Her Name is Alice", and this Wikipedia article: wiki/Paracosm

And yes, the OC that will crush on Crona is Mary! Though, her crush hasn't really been established yet, hence the word "premature". She has some tiny bits of feelings, but not all are romantic.

Next chapter will involve the other half of questions, not the black blood though; I guess Mary will have to bleed first for her to remember. So she will learn about Crona and the events that led up to the end of the anime.

Well, thank you for reading!


	8. Sunday

**Author's Note: **Thank you "Guest (whether it's the same person or not)" for my third review! You're so kind, and yes, I will continue to update.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

* * *

It's Sunday! Normally I don't like Sunday's because I grasp at it too much, and at the end it leaves and I realize that I have to sleep early and go to school the next day. But today I will find out more about Crona! If it's the last thing I do!

In my opinion I think the best person to face and confess to is: Maka. She's obviously Crona's best friend! So, if I want to find out more information about that boy, I need to go to the main source. (I would ask him, but then again. That would be the stupidest and most embarrassing move.)

That's why I'm in some random street texting Maka.

Let's begin: _Hey Maka _

Maka: _Hi_

Me: _What's up?_

Maka: _Nothin much, just reading a book. How 'bout you?_

Me: _I'm fine… Can I trust you with something? _Getting right to the point is key.

Maka: _Sure… what is it?_

Me: _It's about me, having a crush._

Maka: _Aw! That's so sweet! 3 No one has told me about their romances before! :)_

Me: _Yeah well… I just feel like I need to let it all out, you know? I obviously can't trust Adriana -_-_

Maka: _Ok! How about we meet in Deathbucks Café!_ I love how she gets right to the location!

Me: _Sure! I'll see you there!_

Now… it's time to ask random people… where the hell Deathbucks is!

* * *

"You like Crona?" Be louder, why don't you!

"Can you not be so loud about it?" I plead with my eyes closed.

"Oh! Sorry… I'm just… surprised!" she says, then takes her coffee and sips. She continues, "Why do you like him?"

"Oh! Well… He…. its kind-of… embarrassing…" I feel like an idiot!

"It's okay! You can tell me… I won't laugh," she puts both her hands on her chin and smiles.

"I just find him attractive," after that lame statement I started to picture him in my head. Grabbing the spoon that was inside my coffee I start spinning it around. Thus it begins:

"He seems sweet, innocent, kind."

I keep looking at the pattern the spoon was making with the coffee. I was so distracted by white foam circle that I completely zoned out from reality. The background turned black and I was suddenly alone. No one was there with me. There was only the coffee and spoon.

"I can never trust Adriana with my opinion on guys. She'll just make fun of me… But it's not like it matters. I was never meant to be loved by someone outside my family anyways…

"But now… after meeting Crona... I don't know. I'm not the one to speak. He reminds me of my trip to New York. I know it sounds lame and stupid… but, because I went when it was snowing. I remember. That was the first time that I had seen snow in a real-life-experience. I had so much fun when I was over there... I was with Sally, my mom, my dad, Rebecca... I have no idea how a human being can remind me of the bitter cold from New York... but he can."

I was going to keep going but then I remembered that Maka was there hearing and looking at my every move. I quickly look up. All the colors come back in a flood. The setting and place come back to me and I could feel that my face is in shock.

I meet Maka's perplexed expression. She looks like she has just been slapped.

I blush and look down. "Just forget about it…" I'm so glad that my bangs are somehow able to cover my eyes!

"No! Keep going! That was… very deep…"

"Nah, just forget it," I regain my dignity again and I ask her with a serious voice, "You know him better than anyone else right?"

"Yeah… well he knows _himself _better. But I guess so," she says whilst rubbing the back of her head.

"Then, can you please tell me about his past? Also, if you don't mind, explain his personality?" I decide to add, "And anything else that involves him. Like… family." I shake my head a little, suggesting.

"Oh…" She looks at my serious face. "Sure…" she shrugs her shoulders, agreeing. She specifies with one point in the story, "But I must warn you. His childhood isn't the happiest…"

"Neither was mine…" I sigh.

Yes! I feel complete! Now I have all my questions answered.

Besides learning about Crona, Ragnarok, and Medusa, I have also learned more about Maka, Soul, Black Star, Tsubaki, Death the Kid, Liz, and Patty.

Her stories and explanations were so long and confusing that I literally had to take notes. Just so I won't forget (I have terrible memory). After she finished her last story about her and her friends and everyone else defeating Asura, she told me that everyone's lives have been pretty normal. And, that things only got interesting when Adriana and I arrived.

Well that made me feel special!

* * *

It's 2 o'clock at night and I have school tomorrow. Not the best idea but I just can't sleep. My euphoria is keeping me awake and restless.

Oh no! I still have one more question. What's Adriana's weapon form? It's not a question that a book or a person besides Adriana herself can answer. Adriana needs to learn so we can actually start getting missions!

It's not my fault that I don't know. My parents never told me that Adriana was a demon weapon. It was when we were packing to go to Death City that my 'mother' explained it to both of us. In reality, I never really knew.

Adriana doesn't know how to change into a weapon. And I don't know how to acquire the second crescent moon. That's why tomorrow I need to ask Soul to help Adriana transform.

Soul is a scythe, Liz and Patty are guns, Tsubaki is able to transform into multiple ninja weapons, and according to Maka, Ragnarok is able to transform into a sword… that has a mouth… Amazing!

What will Adriana be? I don't know. Hopefully she'll be something cool and awesome. Not, something so commonly used! Tomorrow I'll know.

As for me, tomorrow I need to use my P.E. time to train my physique. I'm not exactly the strongest person and most flexible person in the world. Hell, going up the stairs makes me lose my breath.

I'm kind of worried about Adriana though... her behavior today when I was telling her about the CMPC scared me...

"Cool! So you can drag someone into your world?" she asked with stars in her eyes.

"Yeah…"

"Ok… this is the plan." She leaned in as if what she was about to say was completely secret. "I'll go kidnap Kid and then—"

"What!" She leaned out in surprise. "We're not going to kidnap the _son _of Lord Death!" I shake my head disapprovingly. "What is wrong with you?"

"Aww~!" she whined.

Even when it comes to clans and awesome powers… she _still _thinks about guys!

"Hey! I have a question," she yelled at me to get my attention.

"Shoot."

"When you gain whatever crescent moon, _then _can you follow up with my plan?"

"No, Adriana. We are not going to kidnap a Shinigami."

"What if he _wants _to?"

"Then I guess it's fine," I shrug.

"He-he-he-he-he-he-he… thanks," she returned in a creepy voice.

Suddenly a beeping sound is heard.

"Oh! My popcorn is done! Ok, I gotta go, _Saw II_ is about to start!"

"You're going to watch that movie?"

"Mmm-hm…"

"Ok, whatever, bye!"

That girl worries me at times... She might grow up and stalk people, which is not healthy! Well, whatever, I should probably go to sleep now.

I grab my iDeath and my earphones, and then play a slow song. This ought to make me fall asleep!

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well, now Mary knows what's happened in the good past months!_ It's a good thing she wrote it down though… _Anyways, we learned that Mary's crush on Crona is now fully grown… I think… not yet actually, we just know that she likes him, but not _love. _But that might change soon! We also learn that Adriana is a creepy fangirl! Heh…

I don't own the movie Saw II.

Thank you for taking your time and reading this fanfic!


	9. First Mission

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

* * *

I am a woman of my word. When I tell someone that they're going to get a cold surprise… I _mean _it. Sure it was a little postponed because of that unfortunate Marissa encounter… but still.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" Adriana screamed so loud that it woke up my aunt and Robert.

"What happened?" Rebecca came running inside the room with a 'are we being robbed?' expression.

Adriana, still with her eyes closed, got up from her bed and started gasping loudly. "Mary, I'm going to kill you!"

She isn't kidding. She completely lunged herself and attacked me. With a loud **thud **we both fell on the wooden floor.

"Hey girls stop it!" Robert screamed while trying to separate us.

I found this as a good excuse for hurting him. So when he grabbed Adriana's shoulder, I punched him right in the face!

"OW! Damn that hurt!" Robert clutched his nose for dear life and started cursing and screaming.

"Oh baby! Let me see your nose…" Rebecca coaxed him as if he were _really _a baby.

"That's it Mary!" Adriana screamed while she stood up, finally getting off of me!

"You will now feel my wrath!" she declared.

"What are you gonna do? Put lipstick on me?" I taunted her while getting up. Now my pajamas are all wet because of this crazy woman who decided to attack me by squeezing me with her fat!

"Nope…! When you were in Deathbucks with Maka, I went with Soul to learn how to change into a weapon! Now you will feel my wrath!"

"You learned how to turn into a weapon?" Finally!

"Yes! I don't know exactly what I am, (because I never really changed), but I know how to turn now! Watch me!"

With a glow of white light Adriana changed into her weapon form.

Everyone started at Adriana in her weapon form.

Ok I was _not _expecting Adriana to be a club! But I guess it would be a good weapon… If I would have played baseball when I was smaller, then I would be an awesome meister! But since I didn't… I have to struggle and learn how battle with her.

_Adriana's form is different from a normal baseball bat. She's larger (I don't know how I'm going to carry her), she was made out of steel (making her gray in color), and she has spikes sticking out. Some of the spikes were straight and have pointy ends; others were curved still… with pointy ends. Two straight spikes were at the very top of the club, making it useful if I ever wanted to stab an enemy from up close._

Now that weapon form is very cool! I _would_ compliment her… except we're fighting and she's planning to bash me.

"Wow Adriana! That's a very impressive form!" I complimented.

"Really…?" Adriana (somehow) questioned.

"Yep! …So~… How are you gonna make me feel your wrath if you can't even get up?" I tease, with both my hands on my hips.

"…_Cállate la boca_."

* * *

"We're going to be late! And it's all, _your _fault!" I complain to Adriana, who was running by my side. It's Monday and we're running to go to our next period. But of course the bell had already ringed.

"What did you want me to do? I had to use the restroom!" she complained, as she ran.

"You _could've _told me that you were gonna take a poop!" I shot back.

"Sorry! It's not my fault that my poop wouldn't come out…" Adriana whispered. She was angry at my bitterness, but she knew that if she screamed to loud that she would be in trouble. Social trouble...

"I swear if we're late—!" I was interrupted by a yelling from down the hall.

"Hey guys~!" I snap my head around and see Marie flailing her arms above her head, running towards us.

After she reached us she grabbed her knees and bent down. I greeted her, "What's up Marie?"

"Guys," she gasped for air before she continued. "Go to Lord Death's room…" she continued to huff and puff, "It's a mission, he's assigning you two…"

"Ok!" I grab Adriana's hand and run with her to the Death Room.

"A mission…?" Adriana questions from behind. "She was kidding right?"

"I don't think so…"

"Shouldn't we go to class first?"

I momentarily stop. "Are you stupid?"

"I was just saying—"

I turn around. "Answer my question! Are you stupid?"

"No…"

I start running again. "Then don't ask stupid questions…" I'm going to explain why to her anyways. All she's gonna do is ask later. "We aren't gonna go to class because Marie told us to go there pronto… and because I don't want to be late… Now we have an excuse. 'I'm sorry but I was waiting for Adriana to finish pooping' isn't a good excuse."

"Pfft!" She scoffed. But at least we're finally getting a mission. Yes! Now I can battle with a steel-pointy-bat-club-thing!

* * *

"Great! I'm glad you're all here!" Lord Death greeted us whilst bouncing about.

"Why do you need our presence Lord Death?" Maka asked respectively.

"Because, I'm about to assign you six an important mission!" he happily cheered.

We all looked at each other. Besides Adriana and I, Lord Death also requested to see: Maka and Soul, with Black Star and Tsubaki.

_All seven of us were in the Death Room. A strange-looking room, the Death Room is dome-shaped and domed ceiling with a bright blue sky filled with white clouds, in contrast to what one would expect from a dwelling of a typical Grim Reaper. The clouds actually float around as if the ceiling is an actual sky, sometimes with the clouds drifting along the ground. The main part of the room is a large round platform with some stairs leading up to it. In the centre of the platform is a large mirror with a brass frame with a Shinigami mask on top, where Shinigami usually dwells. At the top of the dome, small windows show the scenery outside._

"Alright…! This is gonna be awesome! My handsome face will blow our enemy away!" Black Star triumphantly exclaimed.

"Lord Death do you mind explaining the mission in detail?" Tsubaki asked with an innocent expression on her face.

"Sure, why not? I want the six of you to go to Cruella's hideout." …Who's Cruella?

"And where is her hideout located?" Maka asked with a serious look on her face. She knows who Cruella is…?

"Well… you see we don't know the _exact _location…" he explained while shaking the back of his head. "All we know is that she has an underground hideout… That has two eggs!"

"Eggs…?" We all question in unison.

"Yes two large eggs that contain two bodies inside. From our research we have concluded that these two bodies are still alive and probably weak. What Cruella does is suck the life force out of the humans, meisters, or weapons that she captures." Lord Death suddenly looks over at me and asks, "You remember your encounter with Cruella, right Mary?"

I blink. Wait… Cruella's Marissa! Oh yeah! Now I remember… the memory of what was supposed to be a fun day returns to me. "I remember." (This is a miracle!)

I can feel Adriana's gaze on me. She must feel immense regret because of what happened. If she wouldn't have left me, then Cruella could've been taken into custody.

Suddenly a question pops into my mind. "Lord Death what happened when I fell unconscious? Did Cruella do something to Crona?"

Maka suddenly spoke up, "I'll tell her! Lord Death…"

"Alright… Anyway! Cruella's main goal is to extract her subjects' life force and when they grow weak enough, she lets them go. Because they're so fragile from having their life force taken out of them they can't really do much to defend. Cruella is a sadistic woman who enjoys watching whoever it may be try to crawl out of her place alive… After they try to crawl their way out and fail… she takes out her knife, kills them, and takes their soul!" Lord Death whispered and at the end (to spice the story up) he screams it out.

"What a cruel witch!" Maka shrieked.

"No kidding," Black Star whispered.

"Where's her location, again?" I ask with a dead voice. I can't… just the thought of what she was planning to do to Crona… I don't care about what she would do to me… but to _him. _Maybe that's why he was frightened. Because he _knew _of what she was capable of.

"Her location has to be close to us in order to capture more souls. I assume that there's a door that leads to the bottom of her hideout. Since we're surrounded by sand you'll need shovels!" He lifts up one of his white fingers and replies with a funny tone.

"Are you serious Lord Death?" Maka asked with a nervous smile.

"Why of course Maka!" Lord Death bounced around some more.

"What are we suppose to do when we get inside her hideout?" Soul asked speaking up for the first time since this meeting started.

"Good question Soul! After you enter her hideout you should find the room that the two eggs are located in. The objective of this mission is to cut the two eggs open and bring whoever is inside over here. If possible don't fight anyone or anything… If Cruella _is _indeed in the same room as the two eggs, then I want you six to work together and cause some damage to Cruella's physique. Still you need to get the two bodies in the egg no matter what! If you don't… that means you failed the mission!" Lord Death whispered and screamed again.

"What if the bodies are already dead?" Black Star asked.

"Black Star did you hear _anything _Lord Death said?" Maka asked Black Star. It really looked like she wanted to face palm herself.

"…" Black Star waited for Maka to continue.

"They wouldn't be _dead. _That's not Cruella's intention."

"Oh!"

"That's all you six, please be careful!" Lord Death waved with one of his huge, white hands.

"Thank you Lord Death!" We all bowed and headed over to desert region.

* * *

**Author's Note: **In the next couple of chapters there will be surprises and action!

If you want to know how Adriana looks in her weapon form, simply go to Google, and type in: "deviantart kulata excalibolg", and presto! It should be the first option!

It's taken from an anime, but the drawing is from Deviantart. It's made by: Kulata.

If you're curious check it out, I guess. I've never seen the anime, I came across the picture by searching some clubs and I liked how this one looked like. So be warned, because I have no idea what the anime is about, so this is a warning.

Adriana knows Spanish!


	10. Almost There

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

* * *

"Alright finding the hideout won't be a problem!" Maka exclaimed when we were all outside of Death City.

"How do you know?" I ask.

"One of Maka's abilities is 'Soul Perception.' It allows Maka to 'perceive' the souls of living people," Soul explains to the group.

"Oh! Then why did we still bring shovels?" Adriana realizes.

"Think about it. If Maka finds the location where the door is, then how are we supposed to get inside?" I ask my stupid weapon.

"Oh…" Adriana looks down and blushes. Yes… _feel _stupid… feel _very _stupid.

Maka closes her eyes and then quickly opens them. After a while of scanning the area she points to a random spot in the sand, "There it is."

"Are you sure?" Soul asks.

Maka turns to Soul and sarcastically replies, "It hurts that you doubt me."

Maka starts walking towards the spot she pointed at. Soul just shrugs and follows her. Whatever it may be he still keeps his "cool guy" look.

Maka drew an X with her shovel on the spot where the door was buried. "Ok everyone! Start diggin'!"

"She'll be comin around the mountain with some gum~! She'll be comin around the mountain with some guum~! She'll be comin around the mountain~! She'll be comin around the moountain~! She'll be comin around the mountain with some guuum~!" Adriana sang. It had only been about one minute that we all start digging and then she starts singing a bad parody of "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain."

"What does that song have to do with _anything?" _I angrily screamed at her.

"Fine let's make this diggin' boring!" Adriana threw her shovel on the ground and angrily stomped away.

"Hey get back here! You're not just gonna to stand there!" I was about to go follow her when a hand on my shoulder stops me.

I turn around and see that's its Maka's gloved hand. "Just let her go."

"Yeah if you don't, she'll just sing another song," Soul mockingly states as he continued digging.

Black Star stopped his digging and analyzed Soul. His eyebrows furrowed and he started pouting. "You think you can beat me Soul?" he screamed/asked.

"What?" Soul looked over at his crazy blue-haired friend.

Black Star pointed an accusing finger at him and stated, "You're trying to act all cool in front of the ladies! But that's gonna end now!"

Black Star's grip on the shovel tightened and he started digging like a maniac. Adriana had to run to the left so Black Star's sand wouldn't fall on her.

In a matter of seconds the door appeared and Black Star rubbed the bottom of his nose. "Ha! See? You're not all that cool after all!" He points at himself with his thumb. "I am!"

"Now how do we open this door?" Maka asked Soul. They weren't even paying attention to what Black Star was saying.

"Hey! Are you guys even listening to me?" Black Star asked whilst throwing a small fit.

"Now, Black Star, please relax…" Tsubaki tries calming down her partner.

"There! Soul opened the door~!" Maka exclaimed.

The five of us stood in front of it and tried to see through the darkness. There aren't any stairs… And I really can't make out anything…

"I guess we have to jump…" Soul stated.

"Awesome! I'll go first! Yahoo!" Black Star didn't wait another second. Before any of us could protest he jumped inside the entrance.

"Wait Black Star!" Tsubaki yelled and jumped after him.

"So… who wants to go next?" Adriana suddenly appeared next to me and asked.

"Hey guys! C'mon!" Black Stars voice called out to us from the dark abyss.

"I guess I'll go next," Soul declared. With that he jumped.

After a few seconds, Soul called out to Maka, "C'mon Maka hurry up!"

"Ok!" Maka called back. She looked at both of us, gave us a wink and a smile, and then jumped.

"Redheads go first!" Adriana motioned me to jump.

"Who said?"

"Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.!"

"… You're insane…" I shake my head slightly.

"Just… jump!"

"No!"

"Why?"

"Because then, _you _won't jump…"

"Yes I will!"

"No you won't! You're too scared to jump, that's why you'll just probably run away when _I_ jump."

She scoffed, "Please! Why would I just run away? I mean, I am _clearly_ a woman of my word. I'm not just gonna, you know leave ya hanging and—Aaahh!" She was cut off by the force my shoe made with her butt.

"We got her!" Maka called out.

"Ok!" With that I jump.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry if this chapter seems incredibly short... it is actually. But I will make it up in the next chapter. There will be action in the next fight. And the mystery of who are in the two eggs will be revealed! I hope the "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." joke didn't offend anyone, I didn't mean to offend anyone. Thank you for reading!


	11. Cruella de Vil

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

* * *

"This place gives me the creeps!" Adriana was holding on to my arm for dear life.

"Chill your pants. It's not that bad!" I try to calm her down… And fail.

"But what if a mummy comes out of nowhere?"

"Don't worry if a mummy does appear, then Black Star will beat it up!" Black Star announces, and proudly bumps his fist into his chest.

"That doesn't make me feel _any_ better…" Adriana mumbles.

"Maka can you feel anything?" Soul asks his meister.

"Yes... just down this hall there are two souls. Lord Death was right! They're inside of eggs! One soul is purple… and immense. The other one is purple as well but it's smaller and weaker than the other one—they're witches souls!"

"Can you see Cruella?" I want to know if _that_ witch is there.

"From what I can see there is no other soul in the room. But witches are able to hide their souls using 'Soul Protect' so really she can still be in there…"

"Good…" I whisper.

"Hey Mary," Maka calls out.

"What is it?"

"Do you want me to tell you what happened with Cruella and Crona?"

"Oh yeah! Tell me!" I forgot! Damn it!

"Alright," thus she began her explanation. "After you collapsed, Cruella was going to deliver her final blow. Before she could strike, though, Crona blocked her attack with Ragnarok. Crona then performed his signature attack 'Screech Alpha'. I assume Cruella realized that Crona was a formidable opponent. She found the task too hard to carry out… so after Crona's attack she fled the scene.

"When she fled Crona carried you over to where I was and told me everything that happened. After that we all went to the hospital and waited for you to wake up." She finished and looked over at me.

"Thank you Maka… for telling me the story," I specified. The only one I should be thanking is Crona.

The memory of my unexpected visit to the Visitor's Residence comes back to me…

"_Oh… that's why you came here?"Crona had asked._

"_Yeah…?" _Now that I think about it. It was never clear as to why he thought I visited him. Could it have been that he expected me to say "thank you"? No, it wouldn't make sense. To say "thank you" for _what_? I didn't even know what happened until just now.

_I remember Ragnarok also played a part. "Oh…" Ragnarok smiled(?), "Then I'll leave you two alone…"_

Why did Ragnarok say that in a mocking voice? It can be obvious depending on the elements that the conversation had. Like blushing, the use of the phrase 'pretty women', biting the bottom lip…

Should I ask Maka about her opinion on it? Or is she simply going to dodge the idea of romance? If I use it as an example with just two friends… she might figure it out. That is if Crona talks to her about those things…

Ugh! This is too much to think about! All I have to do now is concentrate on the main problem. If Cruella is in there then she will taste my foot in her mouth…

"There it is! I can see the light up ahead!" Black Star screamed. He dramatically ran over to the 'light'.

"Wait Black Star!" Tsubaki ran after him.

The world needs the hyper ones and the protective ones.

"Is it too late to turn back?" Adriana asked. She was trying to hide her face with her white sleeves. To add to her protection, she also hid behind my arm. I don't know why… I mean you could still see her.

"Adriana, stop being a scaredy-cat!" It's so funny how she's scared of absolutely _NOTHING!_

"I am _not _a scaredy-cat… I'm just… uh… taking… _precautions_. Yeah that's it! _Precautions_!"

"I bet you don't even know what that word means!"

"Yes I do!"

"What does it mean?"

"Hey look!" She tried to distract me by pointing at the room up ahead. "I think I see something!" With that… she ran away.

* * *

"Guys we have to be _really_ quiet. We can't make _any_ noise. Ok?" Maka whispered. She was holding Soul in scythe form. Her plan was to quietly make her way to the two large eggs and cut them in half, get the two bodies, and get out!

"Sorry Maka! What did you say! I couldn't hear you! If you want to be more heroic, you have to be loud!" Black Star yelled out. He was holding Tsubaki in her Kusarigama form.

"What the hell Black Star…? Are you deaf or something?" Maka screamed back at him.

We were all facing the two giant eggs. They're bright and silver in color.

"How are we supposed to get them? I mean their very high up," I quietly whisper. I'm holding Adriana in her club form with my right hand; her 'head' was on the floor. I was ready for battle. Even though I have no idea how I'm suppose to swing her. I've seen baseball movies but still…

"This has to be done quietly and with care… I'll just jump up there and slash one egg at a time…" Maka planned out.

So the mission could be done faster, Maka contradicted herself. "Black Star. Can you try to reach up to the right egg with Tsubaki?" Maka asked Black Star. I guess she thought that it would be easier and less complicated if one person slashed one egg. Of course… she didn't want to ask _me, _because _I'm _still a _noob!_

Come to think of it… Why am I even here?

"Of course I can! I'm Black Star: the super awesome, super cool guy that will one day surpass God himself!" One of these days he's going to burst my eardrum.

Black Star walked a few feet in front of us and crouched into a stance. He raised one of Tsubaki's "scythes" up and spun it around. In a matter of seconds, the blade was just a blur of white. With a deadly lunge, Black Star threw Tsubaki's right end towards the right egg.

It made a huge cut! Black Star pulled Tsubaki back in time for the eggs yellow water to start pouring out. It was really disgusting because the water that was flooding out looked like pee.

We all had to jump back a few feet so the 'pee' wouldn't touch us. Along with the pee escaping the egg a body dropped along with it. The body hit the floor with a **THUD.**

Maka and I made our way to the body and turned it over.

I heard a gasp escaping Maka's lips. "It's… Eruka Frog!"

"Who…?" I ask her. I don't know half of these people.

"She was one of Medusa's 'buddies'. But after Medusa was killed…" her voice trailed off.

_I looked at Eruka. She has long straight silver hair and a narrow mouth, accentuated by a prominent black circle at each end, resembling the air sacks on a frog's mouth. Her attire consists of a thigh length black dress with a white polka dot pattern over what appears to be a dark gray blouse, black pants and knee-high white boots. Her eyes were closed; I assume that she's unconscious._

I shook her shoulder. "Hey… Hey! Wake up!" I yell.

"Is she dead?" I ask and look over at Maka. She has a sad look displayed on her face.

"No… but she's close…" she continued, "By the looks of it. This water has chemicals that act as leeches. They _do _suck her energy. That includes her nutrients as well. She looks very famished and thirsty." Maka started getting up. "It's time to cut the other egg…" she announced to Soul.

I watched as Maka ran up to the second egg and made a heroic jump. She prepared to cut the egg with Soul, but someone got in the way and knocked her to the side. Maka's body went flying to the far off wall and hit it with such force that the walls stones' broke out.

"Maka!"

Thankfully Maka started getting up. I looked over to the eggs direction and saw… Damn, I forgot her name again!

She looked the same as she did last time. Once she hit the floor with her feet, she started inspected the room. "So it seems that Lord Death brought some children for me huh?"

Her gaze met mine. "It's so good to see you Mary!" she lied while clapping her hands together.

"Where's your boyfriend?" She put her hands on the top of her eyes and looked around the room like a sailor. "I don't see him anywhere… Tell me. Was he too scared to come?"

I clench my teeth. I liked her beginning question, but not her ending response.

She didn't bother hesitating. She immediately went running over to me and backed her right hand. She was about to strike when….

I hear metal crushing. I open my eyes and see Black Star in front of me, blocking her attack with Tsubaki's shield form. "Don't worry Mary! As long as I'm here, I'll protect ya!" Black Star declared turning his head in my direction.

"Thank you… Black Star," I whisper (loud enough so he can hear me).

"Mary!" Maka calls out for me, from across the room.

I tilt my head to the left, "What?"

"I realize that you don't know exactly how to use Adriana as a weapon. Don't worry! Your main priority now is to protect Eruka's body and to try to cut open the second egg! Ok?" Maka instructed.

I'm not going to disobey her. "Ok!" I grab Eruka's body and start running off to the room's right corner. I need to get as far away from the fight. Carrying an unconscious human body and a huge club is tougher than it seems. Not that Adriana weighs anything. Strangely enough she has the weight of a feather.

On our way out of Death City I had carried Adriana in her weapon form because she was too lazy to walk with us to the outside. I had noticed her weight and asked Maka why she weighed nothing. Maka told me it was because both our "Soul Wavelengths" are closely matched.

Maka also told me that the lack of weight is a good thing because it is easier to swing and attack during battles. _And… _it's also a good thing because that means that both the Meister and the weapon have good comparability with each other.

My reminiscing was interrupted by… of right! Now I remember—Cruella. "HA! You guys are pretty stupid, screaming out your plans like that!" Cruella taunted from across the room.

That's when the fight broke out. I could hear weapons cutting the air and metal hitting the floor. Weapons are really dangerous when used by a Meister. I could even hear the vibrations on the floor!

I grab the water bottle I brought along in my small rectangular, black bag. Well… I knew that we had to bring water, because of the desert. But when I realized that no one else had brought water… or a bag! … I felt _really _stupid.

This water was originally meant to keep my thirst at bay when we were digging outside, but because of Black Star I didn't have to drink one sip.

I opened the water bottle and poured some of it on Eruka's face. Nothing happened. Plan B. I open her mouth and pour some water inside. Immediately she flies up and coughs on the water.

She turns to look at me. Then she does the unexpected… she hugs me ferociously. "Geko! Thank you so much! You're my savior! You have no idea what it was like being in there! It was Hell! No food, no beloved water, no nothing! It was horrible! Thank you so much!" She started praising me.

She stopped hugging me and faced me. "I am in your untimely debt." Then she bowed her head respectively.

"Um… I really didn't do anything…" I rub the back of my head. "Black Star over there was the one who cut your egg open." I explain to her, whilst pointing at Black Star's direction. He was trying to hit Cruella along with Maka. Cruella was just dodging all of their attacks. It seems that they aren't doing much progress.

"Oh! Geko. Still! _You _woke me up!" She clapped happily.

"Here…" I give her the water bottle. "You must be dehydrated. Drink up."

"Thank you!" She raises the water bottle all the way up and starts gulping it down. "Ah! That was refreshing!" She gives me back the now-empty water bottle.

"Yeah…" I throw the water bottle at a random direction. Then I ask her, "Hey. Do you know who's in the other egg?"

"Arachne's in the other egg…" Eruka quietly whispers. As if it was some sort of secret.

"Who's Arachne?"

She looks down at the floor and whispers, "She's known as 'The Heretic' witch. She used to be the leader of the massive Organization 'Arachnophobia' and is referred to as the mother of all Demon Weapons. She's the eldest of the three Gorgon Sisters—which includes Medusa and Shaula Gorgon."

"So that would make her Crona's aunt…" I faintly state.

Sadly, Eruka heard me. "Yeah…! Wait—you know Crona?"

"Yep," I make a pop sound with the "p."

"Eruka…! Is Crona a boy or a girl!" Adriana suddenly appears in her human form and asks.

"Oh Josh, Adriana please shut up!" She scared me! She just suddenly appeared by my side! Well that's Adriana… She gets bored so easily in her weapon form. Especially when we were practicing before we left Death City.

"Geko, well… I think Crona's a guy…" Eruka opinionates with her hand on her chin.

"But—!" Adriana starts to protest but gets cut off.

"Hey! Turn back into a giant club!" I command her.

"Why! It's not like we can do anything!" Adriana complains.

"Maybe we _can_ do something to help _them!_" I point over at the fight scene.

"Fine~" Adriana turns back into her weapon form.

I pick her up and look over to the egg, then back at her. Huh… maybe?

"Eruka, do you know what substance the eggs are made of?"

"Which eggs? The normal kind… Or. _Those?" _She points over at the now-cut-and-empty egg that she was placed in.

"Yeah… That one…!" I point in the same direction as her.

"The two eggs are made out of lead," Eruka explains in a simple manner.

"Lead?" What? Lead is super hard!

"Yep…!" She turns to look at my perplexed expression. "Geko, I know it's weird!"

"You got that right!" I state, "Ok I think I got it now!"

"Got what?"

"What I need to do."

I could tell that Eruka probably had a confused look on her face. But that's not the problem at the moment.

I grip the club with my right hand and run straight to where the egg is.

I run up to where the fight is and run around it. But I almost slip on Eruka's-egg-pee, "Ah, cake fountain!" After I recover, I keep running towards where the right egg is.

I stop at the egg and stare up. Now what?

"Mary!" I turn around to see Maka struggling to pry Cruella off her. "What are you doing? Hit the egg!"

"I can't! It's too high-up!" Maka doesn't respond as Cruella attempts to hurt Black Star.

Ok, this is what I'm going to do. I grab Adriana with both hands and raise her above my head. "Hey, what are you—?" Before she can finish I toss her over to the egg.

She amazingly hits the egg with her head, but nothing happened.

"But—?" I question.

Adriana falls to the ground. "Oh great…! That didn't work!" Adriana torments.

"I don't get it…" I whisper to myself, as I walk over to pick her up.

"Mary!" Maka calls out my name.

I turn around and see Maka; she's not busy because Black Star is keeping Cruella busy.

"What?" I question.

"You need to use Soul Resonance with Adriana!" Maka instructs. She's not busy! Why can't _she _do it!

"How do I do that?" I ask. I probably learned that in class, but my memory never serves me when I want it to.

"You need to match your soul wavelength with Adriana's wavelength! When your wavelengths become synched you two can perform an extraordinary technique that will open the egg!"

"How do we match our soul wavelengths?" I ask her from afar. This is bad. Cruella is driving Maka away from earshot. That little—

"You both need to be calm and of one mind!" I could tell that Maka was trying really hard to scream extra loud so I can hear her.

"Anything else!"

"Nope, that's it! Good luck!" That's the last of Maka's instructions I guess.

"Adriana you heard her right? We need to be calm and concentrate," I look down at my weapon.

"Ok! Let's try," Adriana responded in a nervous voice.

"Remember. Eliminate all emotions. You need to be calm…" I remind her.

"Yeah. I got it."

I closed my eyes and concentrated.

I could feel both our soul wavelengths connecting and getting closer. I can see my soul! It's… green? Hey… it has a crescent moon on it! That's cool!

Adriana's soul is white… go figure. Wait! No, never mind, it's pretty bland.

Both out souls push themselves to each other, just like a magnet. And they give out electric charges, and finally unite.

I open my eyes and yell with Adriana: "Soul Resonance!"

From the corner of my eyes I can see a white light. I look down and see Adriana glowing white, completely blocking her steel colors. Whoa! In a matter of seconds her physique changes!

She's twice her size and the spikes are longer and thicker! And to my surprise she weighs less!

"Whoa!" Ha! Take that physics!

"I look _good!" _Adriana compliments herself.

"How can you even _see _yourself?" I wonder.

"Who cares? Just hit the egg!" she commands.

Smiling, I raise her up and run a few feet away. I run over to where the egg is, jump, and bash the egg with Adriana. Before I fall to the ground I hear a thunderous crack.

Once I land on the floor, I look up at the egg. Already, the "pee" is sprouting from the hole Adriana and I had just created. I can't believe it! I actually _did _something! I'm so proud!

The hole lets the "pee" water escape.I quickly jump back to avoid the massiveflood that was leaking out. Somehow, the hole got bigger as the "pee" began to become a stream. Cruella and the others couldn't dodge it in time. Because of that, they all slip and fall. The "pee's" current carries them forward and out the dungeons door.

I keep staring at the hole. A voice of reason, Adriana, screams at me, "Hey genius! Remember the body!"

"Oh right!" I jump a little and run over to where the body had fallen. I look at Arachne; her eyes were barely open… It's a good thing she's conscious though.

I set Adriana down and ask, "Can you walk?"

Her eyes barely open strain to look at my face more closely. She tries getting up by using her elbows as support, but she ends up falling hard on the floor.

"No…" she whispers.

_Arachne has an extremely pale and flawless complexion, making it appear like she's almost constructed entirely out of porcelain. She has a thin figure and very huge breasts. Her facial features comprise of long dark black hair, worn in an upwards manner with two long strands that frame either side of her face, and eyes that have both completely gray irises and pupils, each containing a black spider web pattern._

"It's okay…" I coax while grabbing her arm and putting it around my shoulder. "I'll help you…" Man! This woman weighs a lot! (No she doesn't, you're just a toothpick.)

"Mary, watch out!" I hear Maka scream from a distance.

I look to my side and see a flying Cruella. Her right hand is glowing purple, in her famous 'I'm about to stab you' position. Before I can react to anything I hear Arachne whisper, "Web of Defense…"

Before Cruella could make contact with me, a huge thick looking spider web appears between us. Cruella couldn't dodge the spider web in time so she went into it head first. She tried moving around but the web didn't allow her to.

I looked over at Arachne. She's just looking down… I need to get her some food!

I wonder… Did I bring my chocolate bar?

Once again, I attempt to make it all the way back to where Eruka is. Halfway there I can hear Maka and Black Star's sloshing footstep reaching to where Cruella is.

I set Arachne down and search my bag.

I ask Adriana, "Hey. Do you know if I brought my chocolate bar?"

Adriana turns back into a human. "How the hell am I suppose to know? I don't stalk _you!" _Hearing the emphasis on 'you' I look up at her. She blushes and continues, "I only stalk Kid."

"Hehe!" Eruka simply laughs.

"I found it!" I hold up the chocolate bar. It's a little soft but it will do. "Adriana do me a favor and feed this to Arachne," I hand over the chocolate bar to Adriana.

"Gross! I'm not feeding a chocolate bar to a woman! You do it!" Adriana abstained.

I'm not going to fight with her… Without Adriana's help I couldn't have made that hole on the egg. I really need to thank her.

I just simply smile and breathe, "Thank you…"

I can feel her confused gaze on me. I ignore it and look over at Eruka.

"Eruka can you—?

Before I can even finish the sentence Eruka's shaking her head, her silver hair swinging to the sides. "Oh c'mon you said that you're in my untimely debt! You _have _to do this for me!" I hand her the chocolate bar.

"Ugh! Fine!" She grabs the chocolate bar from my hand and wobbles with her knees towards where I lay Arachne down.

I look over at the fight. And gasp. Cruella's gone! Like just… GONE! She's not in Arachne's spider web anymore!

I get up and run over to where Maka is. "Maka!"

"I know… she's gone…" Maka calmly explained; her eyes closed for some reason.

She turned her attention to Black Star. "I don't sense her anymore. I think she used a teleportation technique to get away…"

"Damn it!" Black Star stomped his foot in anger. Tsubaki turned back into her human form and tried to calm Black Star down.

"It's okay Black Star… What matters is that we're all safe! At least we accomplished the mission," Tsubaki coaxes.

"That's right…" Soul transformed back and added, "There's no need to act like a sore loser. It's not cool."

"Anyway we need to get out of here and report back to Lord Death," Maka announced.

She looked over at where Adriana is. "It seems Eruka can walk…" Her serious face turns into a smile. "So which one of you _men _is going to carry Arachne?"

I cracked up when I heard that joke. Tsubaki silently giggled to herself, while her partner took the joke literally and started praising himself.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I'm sorry if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes. I didn't fully proofread it -_-

Why? Well, I woke up late, and during a TV commercial I fell right back to sleep! And now it's almost 8 PM… *Sigh* And I'm far too lazy to re-read it and check for any mistakes.

Tomorrow I will be going with my family to a cruise for a week. I don't know the exact date of when I will return. So, don't expect a new chapter in the following seven days.

Something's to add: when Mary asked if Eruka was dead... yeah, she forgot that that is not Cruella's intention. Mary jumping during Soul Resonance when she isn't physically fit... I hope this doesn't confuse anyone. Let's just say the egg isn't that high or Soul Resonance does more than it looks like. Or, if you don't want any logic behind it, simply ignore it!

Thank you for reading!


	12. Jack in the Box Part 1

**Author's Note: **I'm alive! And back from that cruise! It was really nice, if you don't look outside a window, you actually believe that you're in a hotel! And thank you "Guest" for reviewing again. Your comment made me so happy T.T

And I did notice something. In Chapter 11 Cruella de Vil… I've spotted some mistakes -_- *sigh*. Oh, those mistakes… But who cares (only I) as long as it's readable! That type of laziness will not happen again.

Anyways, on with the story!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

* * *

"They're so mean!" Adriana whined.

"They're _not _mean!" I answered. I'm getting sick of her constant whining and bickering.

"If someone kicks you out of a room, that means they're mean!"

"No it doesn't!"

"Why did they kick us out!" Adriana moves her arms like a penguin who's trying to fly.

"Maka and Lord Death need to consult something in private…"

"Then why did Black Star stay?"

"Child! They probably stayed to discuss what happened during the fight with Cruella!"

"They need _our _opinion too… and I'm older than you!"

I ignore her age comment. "Not really…"

"Yes really!" Adriana kept whining. She looked around the halls we were walking. "Where are we going?" She sounds tired. Is it because of her awesome transformation? Or is it because her constant whining makes her loose her breath faster?

"To the Dispensary."

"What is that?"

"It's kind of like the nurses office. It's where a nurse or something treats meisters and weapons that are sick or injured."

"Why are we going there?"

"Because Lord Death told us to!" My patience is limited.

"Why?"

"We need to check on Arachne and Eruka."

"Ugh! I don't wanna go there!"

"But… Kid's there…" I whisper.

Her eyes almost pop out of her skull. "What! Really!" she asked with hearts in her eyes.

"Yeah!" I reply sarcastically.

"He's mine…" her voice threatened. I guess she didn't receive my sarcastic vibe.

"I know," I rolled my eyes. "I don't like Kid…" I look at her from the corner of my eyes and smile, "I like someone else."

"Oh, my, God…!" She quickly dropped the Kid subject and went over to me. "Who is it? Who do you like?"

"You're funny if you think I'm going to tell you…" She always wants to know who I like. When I ask her why, she tells me it's because she wants to help me get the guy to be mine. But in reality all she does is make fun of me about liking such an ugly person. And because I like Crona and she's still in the subject of his gender… it's not really a good idea to tell her anything now.

"Is it Soul?" Thus, begins the guess game.

"No."

"Is it Black Star?"

"No." Hell no!

She gasps. I look over at her, "It _is_ Death the Kid… isn't it?"

"I just told you 'no'."

She stops following me. When I turn around I see her staring at the floor, deep in thought.

"We have to keep going, you know?" I call out to her.

She finally looks up at me and smiles, "Is it Ox Ford?"

"What! That's the most horrible guess on Earth! How _dare _you think such a thing?" I should just slap her for _thinking _that!

Ox Ford is this genius in many of our classes. He might be smart, but he has a huge ego when it comes to academics. Also, he's practically bald! Except for two pieces of hair in the sides of his head… make those hairs puffy and red, add some makeup, and a red nose, and he could be a clown!

"I was just kidding!" She innocently smiled and kept going in my pace.

I look over at her. She had her hand on her chin, in pensive thought. She was looking up at the ceiling.

"Those are the only guys that I know…" She shrugs her shoulders and gives up on the guessing game.

"So…in your book, Crona's a girl?" I don't know why I didn't stop, but I just had to ask.

"Aha! So it _is _Crona! My trapped worked!" She points her two hands at me.

"Aha! No it didn't," I mimic her stupidity.

"Yeah it did!"

"I was just correcting what you said. Remember that Crona is boy, and you _do _know him," I explained in the easiest way possible.

"Whatever! … Are we there yet?" She (thankfully) dropped the subject.

"Fortunately, we are!" We went over to the Dispensary's door and opened it.

We stepped in, only a few feet to where Eruka and Arachne's beds were located. There were two twin beds beside each other. On the right bed there was Arachne who was sleeping… I-I think. On the left bed there was Eruka who was awake and currently talking to Liz and Patty. I guess they're friendly friends now.

When Adriana and I stepped inside everyone turned their eyes on us. Kid was in the room (just like I said) and I swear I'm going to laugh if she faints!

I shouldn't be talking, though, because Crona was in the room too, along with his back-buddy Ragnarok.

"Hi guys! How's Arachne doing?" I break the uncomfortable silence.

"Geko, hurtful!" Eruka yells from across the room.

"Eruka I can see that you're fine!" I shake my hand dismissively.

Nygus, the schools nurse, walks up to me and informs, "Eruka is ok. All she needed was some food and _a lot _of water, in order to regain her physical strength. Although…Arachne is a different story…" She looked at me from the corner of her eyes.

_She's covered in bandages, which makes look her like a mummy. She has dark skin, a tattoo on her upper shoulder, blue eyes, and wears her hair in dreadlocks. As of now she's wearing a doctor's coat._

"What's wrong with Arachne?" I'm suddenly worried. Even though Arachne's "evil", she still protected me from Cruella's stab. I'm in _her _debt.

"Well… it's seems that the Heretic Witch has lost some of her memories, if not _all _of them. When you dropped her off here she started spouting some nonsense about 'being in love.'"

"Being in love?" What?

"With you…" She finished her sentence with a deadly blow.

"What?" In love with _me?_ No! I don't want a _girl_ to be in love with me! I want _Crona _to be in love with me!

"I said—"

"I heard you…I just…can't believe it," I stutter around a few words. "Did she say why?" I need the reason…in order to squish it.

"Something about you 'saving her life'," Kid answers my question.

"… Oh boy…" I look at Crona. He's performing his Shy pose and is staring at me with a worried expression. I turn around. Adriana has her mouth open. When I turn around she looks at me and closes her mouth.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! You're loved by a girl!" I turned around again to see Patty throwing a laugh fit.

Liz looked embarrassed for me. She apologized, "I'm sorry for…_her." _She was about to say something else, but just looked down, took Patty's hand and exited the room.

Kid looked at me and apologized, "I'm sorry about Patty's outburst. Don't take it personally she laughs at almost everything. She even laughed when Liz fell inside a hole…" Kid shook his head in shame. "I realize that it's not funny…" He bows. "I apologize in advance for whatever Patty laughs or does."

When Kid exited the room Adriana yells, "No! Why did he leave?"

I look at her, and joke, "Why don't you go _stalk _him?"

"Ooh! Good idea!" Adriana turns around and walks out the room.

I let my hand reach weakly towards the door. "I…was…joking..."

I sigh and turn around. Now the only people left in the room are: Nygus, Crona (Yay~!), Ragnarok, Eruka, and a sleeping—I think—Arachne.

"Well…uh…" Nygus looks around the room. "Oh would you look at that! I need to go tell Sid…something…" Nygus finds her excuse to leave the rooms' awkward atmosphere.

Now all my attention is on Crona...Doesn't his arm ever get tired of staying at the same place?

"Crona?" I call out to him.

"Huh?" He snaps his head back to me. "What is it?" He frowns at me. He always seems to have a worried/nervous expression…I wonder why? Medusa's gone and his life should really be stress-free…although there _is _school…And Maka told me that he was dealing with a _"girl" _crisis, meaning that he's crushing on a girl. Maka's helping him, and that it's going really well!

"How did you find your aunt?" I ask in a polite manner.

"Oh…" He bites his lip and looks over at Arachne. "Ok."

What type of "ok"? "Ok" like, good? Or "ok" like yes?

"Ah." I hate it when he responds so simply! Because then, _I _can't carry out the rest of the conversation!

"Man you two practically _deserve _to be together!" Ragnarok suddenly erupts from Crona's back.

Leave it to Ragnarok to continue the conversation _for_ us.

"You with your emo-ness!" He directs towards Crona, while punching his skull. "And _you!" _He pointed at me with one of his little 'balls' he calls hands. "You're so quiet! It annoys me that you two don't talk to each other when you have a room to yourselves!"

"Geko! I'm here too Ragnarok!" Eruka mockingly waves.

Ragnarok turns his small head toward Eruka and insults. "Shut up! No one likes you!"

"How dare you? Many people like me!" Eruka defended.

"Name _one _person!"

"Mary!" Eruka pointed at me.

"Do you like her Mary?" Ragnarok turned his tiny head to me and asked.

"What type of 'like'?" I need to be sure that we were all on the same page. Arachne's sudden crush has got me all dizzy.

"Friend like!" Eruka quickly stated, before Ragnarok could contradict it.

"Oh! Then, yeah," I respond. I want to be nice. I mean, Eruka's been nice to me so far.

As for Ragnarok…he used to make Crona cry…in a room…in the dark…when he was about six years old…That's not very nice! Still…he's a part of Crona that many have to accept.

"Ha!" Eruka directed to Ragnarok.

"Shut up, you flat chest!" Ragnarok was not about to lose this war.

"I am _not _a flat chest!" Eruka crosses her arms across her chest. It's obvious that she's making it seem that she has large breasts because her crossed arms are a few exaggerated inches away from her actual size.

"Prove it…!" Ragnarok teased, in a very pervertive manner.

"Geko! Crona! Tell your little 'friend' to stop being such a pervert!" Eruka complained.

Crona looked up at Ragnarok and vice versa. "I dare you…" Ragnarok threatened.

"Ragnarok," Crona started. "Please stop being a—…" Ragnarok didn't let Crona finish his sentence.

Ragnarok lifted his meisters dress up. Before it could expose anything, though, Crona put both of his hands down on the dress. Unfortunately for me, Crona has fast reflexes.

This caused me to blush an insane amount and for Eruka's to just roll her eyes. I guess this has happened before.

"No! Ragnarok stop it!" Crona yelled, whilst blushing and still putting force on the dress.

"No! This is what you get for giving me a command!"

"You didn't even let me finish it!"

"I don't care! I told you that I was going to fling your dress sometime during this week!"

"No! Why_ now_?" Crona complained.

"That's what you get~!" Ragnarok sang.

"No! Stop it!" This fight's getting intense. Crona's actually _losing! _This isn't gonna end pretty. Well…at least not for Crona.

"Amator~!" Out of nowhere, something black attacks me and sends me sprawling to the floor.

"Mary!" I can hear both Eruka and Crona scream my name.

I can feel this body still pressing on me with a lot of force. Squishing me with…actually I don't even know.

I can't see. All I can do right now is _feel. _Not sure what's happening exactly, but it seems like Eruka and Crona are trying to lift whatever is on me off.

"Geko! Lady Arachne, please get off of her!" I could just barely make out what Eruka screamed. Lady Arachne? Is that what she said? I thought Arachne was sleeping! Or possibly dead!

"W-What are we gonna do?" I could just barely hear Crona's paranoid voice.

"Lady Arachne, can you please get off of her?" Eruka tried pleading.

"Hey! Ms. Big Boobs! You're gonna crush the girls lungs! Do you _want _her to die?" Ragnarok mocked.

This caused Arachne to lift her body off of me. I opened my eyes and saw Arachne's face above mine. Well… this is more awkward than a male doctor looking down your shirt. I gently grab her shoulder and push her out of the way. She gets up along with me.

"Are you ok?" Thank Josh, Eruka broke the silence. I wasn't sure what I was gonna do.

"Yeah… I'm fine."

"That's awesome!" Arachne cheered and jumped like a little girl.

_Her clothing consists simply of a long black sleeveless dress; however, this dress is incredibly long, in that it completely conceals her feet, while ending in eight small trailing pieces of fabric. A narrow black band encircles her neck featuring a small spider emblem, which lies at its front, and eight extensions that protrude outwards upon the back, with four emerging from either side. Spider web netting branches the gap between the band and the dress, extending downwards from the aforementioned spider emblem. Two large "sleeves", separated entirely from the dress, are worn on her arms, ending just after her elbows. Each of these "sleeves" also display four protrusions, appearing at the ends of the significant amount of overhanging fabric. She also wears two spider earrings that hang downwards from her ears._

The dress she was wearing didn't do any good to hold down her breasts. When she jumped, her boobs went with her.

"I'm so happy that your ok~!" Arachne sang and hugged me again.

… Boy Nygus was right. Not only has Arachne lost her memory… but she has also lost her mind!

_Please get off me!_

She stopped hugging me and stared with a kind look on her face. This is too awkward and embarrassing.

I was about to say that I was going to go home, when all of the sudden the door swings open.

"Hi! Hi! Hi! It's me Black Star! I have come to lighten your day~!" Black Star (obviously) screamed.

"Hey guys what's up?" Maka casually asked. Soul was with her as well, along with Tsubaki.

"Arachne's big boobs! _That's _what's _up!" _Ragnarok decided to add. Thank you Josh! Good thing that there are talkative ones in the world.

"Ragnarok stop being such a pig," Maka said simply.

"Look who's talking you fat cow!"

I noticed that Maka, Soul, Tsubaki, and Black Star were all acting strange. They just kept staring and waiting… anxiously... Even _Black Star_, the hyperactive one, was fidgeting around and looking around the room…

"Guys… What's wrong?" I asked.

"Just tell her Maka…" Soul persuaded.

"Ok…" Maka looked straight into my eyes. "Do you mind if Eruka and Arachne live with you guys?"

"What?" _Que?_

"Let me explain… don't freak out yet." Notice how she said "_yet."_

Maka sighed and began: "Lord Death can't allow Arachne and Eruka to stay in the schools dormitories because they aren't students in the DWMA. And we_ have_ consulted it. Soul and I have Blair living with us, so we don't have any space for two more people to live in. Black Star and Tsubaki have a very small home so they can't support them either. Death the Kid's house _is _big, but it's just that he doesn't approve of them… Crona obviously can't because he lives in a small room. So the only one left is you…" After all that, she laughed nervously.

I decide to play nice. "Ok… I'll ask Rebecca and Robert. If _they're _ok with it, then they could stay. If they're _not… _then I'm very sorry."

"Thank you so much!" Maka gushed like if it were _her _that needed a place to stay.

_The only reason that I am going to allow them to live with me is because I don't want to seem like a bitch. Maka and the others actually CONSIDERED Arachne and Eruka's chances to live with them. And they probably don't know any more of them then I do._

_Plus, Robert has a big house, so they actually have a chance to live there. I don't want them to end up in the streets or anything._

_But… I wonder. Why doesn't Kid approve of them? I mean I know they're considered evil but still…_

"Ok…" I turn to Arachne and Eruka. "Let's go find Adriana and go to my place!" I smile at both of them. Eruka probably won't leave me alone. And because Arachne's "_in love with me_" then she obviously won't leave either.

The three of us walk towards the door. Before we step out I turn around and ask, "Crona want to come with?"

"Huh? Really?" He seems utterly shocked.

"Yeah!" I smile at him. He needs to pick up hints from me, too.

"Ok!" He blushes and walks over.

Time to find Adriana!

* * *

It turns out that Adriana never stalked Kid…Which is a good thing because I was worried that she was going to get caught and be in legal trouble. Anyway what she did was, after she left she went to Deathbucks Café to order coffee. Then, she came back to the house and went up her room. She probably didn't follow her plan to stalk Kid because after she exited the room she couldn't find him! Ha!

As we were walking towards my house, I informed the group about my house and the people who live in it. Crona listened to everything I said… I think.

Eruka was playing and talking to a frog she found on the street.

Arachne was hugging my left arm (she probably wasn't paying any attention either). During my explanation she has been humming to herself. Her humming was surprisingly _not_ annoying. It was actually soothing and relaxing. I didn't know what song she was humming, it could be very old, considering that she's at least 800 years old. If not _more. _

And how can I forget about perverted-ol'-Ragnarok? He was on Crona's back for over 5 minutes, but then he got bored and went back inside.

"Ok! We're here!" I triumphantly declare.

Eruka stopped talking to her "friend" and complimented, "Its… rich-looking…"

"Yep! That's the _only reason_ I like it." I turn to Crona and ask him directly, "What do you think, Crona?" It's not so hard at all to talk to him. I thought it would be, but you easily get used to things.

"It's…nice."

He _would _say something simple! That's so cute. And the way he's so soft spoken.

Arachne blurts out, "It's so pretty and fancy!" She hugs me harder. "You deserve to live in such a great place Amator!"

My blood circulation in my left arm is being stopped by her insane hug. I make a noise in the back of my throat.

"You're doing it again, Ms. Big Boobs!" Ragnarok suddenly appears and mocks.

"Doing what?" Arachne looks over at Ragnarok. She's still squeezing my arm!

"You're crushing a part of her body! First it was the whole dang thing! And _now _it's her arm! Damn woman! Do you not realize the strength you have?"

I look over at Crona. Nothing has changed on his side of the story.

He looks directly at me and notices my staring. A surprised look flashes on his face. Next he looks down and blushes deeply.

"Oh!" Arachne quickly lets go of my arm. Yes! "Sorry, Amator." She bows her head down to me. What the hell does "Amator" mean?

"Anyway…" I am going to try to regain my composure again. "Let's all go inside and meet my aunt and step-uncle." I lift my right hand and wave over to the double doors that await our entrance.

Before I could open the twin doors, I face Eruka. She looked up from her frog and looked at me. "What?" she asks.

"The frog…has got to go," I tell her simply.

"Wh—why?"

"Rebecca is deathly afraid of frogs."

"So?" I think she might be offended.

"So…you can't enter her house…with a frog." I added for clarity, "Remember we want to get on her _good _side. Showing up with a frog isn't gonna help."

"Fine!" She went down the stairs and set her frog down. "Geko, bye, Natalie! I'll miss you! Don't forget about me!" She crouched down and waved at her amphibian friend who was hopping away.

"Natalie?" I whisper to myself. Why would she name a frog Natalie?

Whatever. I open the twin doors and step inside. When everyone comes in, I close the door once again.

"Nice place," Arachne commented with both hands behind her back.

"Thanks," I reply.

I turn around and look at the mayhem that was happening near the huge stairs. Rebecca was putting clothes inside a huge bag and Robert was trying to zip another huge bag.

"Um…" I start.

Rebecca notices me. "Oh hey, Mary!"

"Hi…um…Why are you packing?" I ask nervously.

"Because we're moving!" Rebecca states while throwing her arms up like a little ten year old.

"What? Moving? Again!"

"Yep!" she simply states.

"Why?" I repeat.

"Oh! Because I don't like this place! I mean have you _seen _the moon and the sun?" She turns to face me. "It's so…_creepy!"_

"I _like _the moon and the sun!…We can't just leave! I've only been here for about; a week! I have _friends! _And I'm actually _happy!_

"Don't you want me to be happy Rebecca? After all those lies and secrets…don't you want me to be happy?"

"I knew this would happen…" Rebecca stands up and turns around to face me. Her brown eyes have died down, now, their dull and life-less.

"I'm sorry Mary…" Rebecca began. "I'm sorry for everything that we have kept from you…And I realize that you want to stay…But. You see…we're leaving because Robert doesn't have the money to pay for the house anymore. So, we have to move to someplace cheaper. But don't worry! We'll still be a happy family!"

"No…we won't…" I choke out. I'm trying very hard to fight the tears that are threatening to ruin everything. "I want to stay _here! _Right here in Death City!"

"Look—" Rebecca began to say. But she was interrupted by Robert.

"Rebecca…" Robert calls out. Rebecca turns around and faces her "love." "If Mary loves this place so much that she wants to stay…then she can!"

I smile gratefully…with a ting of surprise.

"What? Robert you're crazy! With what money is she going to live with? There's no adult or money! She can't live alone with Adriana!" Rebecca defended her side of the argument.

"She _does _have an adult…and I think we can work things out," I suddenly hear Arachne speak up.

"Oh yeah…Who the hell are you?" Rebecca screams/questions.

"I'm Arachne…mind if we three _adults _talk in private?"

* * *

**Author's Note: **I am going to explain some things—call it "background information".

_How is Arachne alive?_

_Tainted _is the continuation of the Soul Eater anime. In the anime, Kishin Asura took Arachne's soul and ate it. At the end, Maka punches Asura and he explodes, and you can see many blue souls in the air. I'm pretty sure Lord Death picked them up and buried them in his special little room, but Cruella took Arachne's soul in specific for her goal. The rest will be explained soon…

_The two witches_

One of the DWMA's enemies are witches, so why didn't Lord Death take Eruka and Arachne into custody? Simple. Arachne only knows one spell and can, if treated right, be a useful ally to DWMA. And as for Eruka…she can still be useful, and she's not really that dangerous. Basically Lord Death is taking a chance: can the two witches be trusted?

_Fun Facts_

-Black Star and Tsubaki actually sleep together ;)

-I'm going to say what Amator means, because Mary will probably forget to say it. Amator is Latin for "lover".

The "moon and the sun" comment from Rebecca is kind of contradicting. In the Soul Eater universe, everywhere a character goes there will still encounter the laughing sun and the smiling moon (ex: a desert, Italy). But Rebecca only said that as a cover-up lie.

Arachne's dressed description is taken from the soul eater wikia website… just like most of my italics descriptions are.

Thank you for reading!


	13. Jack in the Box Part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

* * *

Sitting in the bottom stairs of Robert's house, is a really boring thing to do. Eruka and Crona are both sitting next to me on the same step. Eruka's playing with Natalie (after we got kicked out, Natalie hopped back to Eruka) and Crona is staring at the floor.

And _I'm _going to _EXPLODE! _There's nothing to _do _on a pair of stupid steps!

I try to make conversation: "Eruka… what are you doing?"

"Geko! Natalie was about to tell me a secret and you decide to talk! Uggh!" Eruka started getting up. "I'm leaving with Natalie to a more _private _area!" Eruka stomped down the stairs with Natalie cupped in her hands and went to an opposite direction.

This is the _fourth _time someone has left me alone with Crona. I look over at him. He's still staring at the floor… deep in thought. I wonder what he's thinking about. Could it be that he's reminiscing about his past? According to Maka he _did _have a horrible past.

"Crona?" I try to catch his attention.

A look of surprise flashes on his face; he snaps his head and faces me. "W-What?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure?"

"Do you—?" I begin, but never end.

_Boys and girls of every age. Wouldn't you like to see something strange? _Before my ringtone can continue, I answer my phone.

"Hello?" I ask Maka.

"Hey! Crona's there with you right?" Maka asks hurriedly.

"Yeah, he is."

"Good! Can you put him on?"

"Sure?" I hand my phone over to Crona. He doesn't take it… just looks at it. "It's Maka. She wants to talk to you."

"Um… I don't know how to deal with phones…" His eyes shift around nervously.

"Just take it, put it in your ear, and talk to Maka," I instruct. "It's not hard."

"O-Ok…" He timidly reaches for my phone. He takes it and holds it up to his left ear. "Hello?"

I can't hear what Maka is saying, so I just pay attention to Crona's side of the conversation.

"I don't want to go today," Crona complains. He starts hugging his knees.

"Maka…" Crona starts saying. "I _can't_…" He shakes his head to the side and whispers.

"Yeah…" he whispers again.

"What?" he suddenly straightens up.

"But—I—!" he gets cut in between. "Ok… fine…"

He turns his head back to my direction. "Here," He gives me back my phone. I tap on it; the call is still going. "She wants to talk to you."

"Oh." I put my phone in my ear. "Jes?"

"Mary you need to help me!" Maka sounds frustrated.

"Why? What's wrong?" I can't help but look at Crona. He's just staring at the floor again.

Maka's words come out in a rush, "Today I was suppose to go with Crona to buy him a phone! But now he's telling me that he doesn't want to! And I'm very busy! There's a test tomorrow that I have to study for, I need to cook tonight, and I have to do plenty of other things too! Now I have Crona telling me that—!"

"Look it's okay," I coax. "Just… Have someone else take him," I shrug my shoulders and suggest.

"He won't go with just _anyone! _He needs to go with someone that he's comfortable around…" She suddenly stops, pausing for a few seconds. "Hey! Can _you _take him?" She suddenly let's go of the bomb.

_Yes Maka, make him go with the girl he barely knows… GOOD IDEA!_

"Me? I can't! I'm dealing with a crisis!" Not the best time to let go of this bomb, Maka.

"Oh c'mon! …" She pauses again. "Ok! Tell ya what. When your crisis is done, _then _can you take him?" She adds, "Pleeeeeeeeease?"

"I'll call you when the results come up. Sorry, but I can't promise you anything…" With that I hang up.

I sigh. Sorry Maka. But I don't know what's going to happen! I _don't _wanna leave Death City! I have a new crush! A new life! New friends! I can't just leave.

"I'm sorry…" I hear a pleading voice next to me.

Surprised, I turn and face Crona. He's hugging his knees again, but this time with his left hand. The other hand is busy petting the bottom stair.

"For what Crona?" I shake my head slightly.

"If I had just agreed to go, you won't have this burden on you… I'm sorry."

My eyes widen with shock. He thinks it's a burden to spend time with him?

Oh HELLZZZZ NO!

"Crona…" I start to say. "You're not a burden to me…at all."

He looks up at me. "Say what you want…It won't change anything…"

Well! I can't believe my ears! I can't believe he thinks that it's a _burden _to be around him. I have just had about enough. I can't let him continue thinking that. His opinion must be changed… and fast~!

"You know what?" I start getting up. "C'mon. Where gonna get you a phone _right now!" _For some reason I clap both my hands and walk down the stairs.

"Wh—?"

Before he can question I give him the answer. "I'm going to prove to you that I don't find you a burden…" I repeat again. "_At all!"_

I'm surprised that he doesn't refuse. "But Lady Arachne—!"

"Is inside talking to my aunt and step-uncle," I finish the sentence for him. "Whatever the results may be, Arachne will do it herself. If I get a new house, then she will begin renting it and stuff. If I have to move then…" I don't even want to think about that. "I just want to spend my time with you…"

I look up at him. His eyes are widened. His eyes shift down and he smiles, whilst blushing.

* * *

"Ok! First things first!" I turn around and face Crona. We have just entered the phone store.

"What's your favorite color?" I press.

"Um… I don't know…"

Maka mentioned his troubles about socializing with people he barely knows. It's just like dealing with a shy child. You need to be patient, calm, and… energetic! Not _too _energetic though… you don't want to scare them away.

"Sure you know! Just think…What color do you like?"

"Wh-What do you mean?"

"Well… it's… um…." Wow! This is harder than I thought to explain!

"Just pick a damn color, Crona!" Ragnarok shot out of his Meisters back and started punching his skull.

"B-But I don't know which one!"

"Ugh! You're such a whiny bitch!"

"How—?"

"Mary!" Ragnarok looked straight at me.

"Wh—What?" After Maka described Ragnarok's personality, I have grown a little frightened by this little demon creature. He's known for his short tempers and he has a pervertive personality. Maka told me that once just because she patted his head and uttered how safe she felt that now he was small; he flung her skirt up, revealing her underwear to both Ragnarok and Crona. After that, Ragnarok commented how that panty shot was a complete turnoff.

So I need to watch out with Ragnarok. One small mistake can cause me an embarrassment that may either a few days or a lifetime.

"Just give this dumbass the color of his hair!"

"Oh… so… pink?" I'm not judging or anything… it's just that pink doesn't really suit Crona for a phone color.

"Naaaw! Red!" Ragnarok sarcastically remarked. "C'mon shithead, go to the stupid stalls and pick a damn phone! It's not so hard!" Ragnarok pulled his meisters hair, leading him to the glass compartments that contained numerous phones.

"Ow! Ow! Ok! Just don't pull my hair! Ow!"

"Who the hell said that _you're_ the boss of me?"

Sigh. I better go over there. I walk over to where Crona is being tortured. "Look at the stalls and pick a phone!" Ragnarok commands.

"Ok! Just, _please _let go of my hair!" Crona begged.

Ragnarok rolls his X's and let's go of his meisters hair. Crona looks at me and blushes. He quickly directs his vision to the glass containers.

"Ok. So which color do you like?"

"Um…" His eyes shift through the numerous phones on display.

"Do you want the color of your hair?" He simply shakes his head, making his pink hair go side to side. Somehow I find that appealing.

"Ok…" Maybe he would like black? "Do you want a black phone?" He bites his lower lip, and then shakes his head again.

"… Do you like blue?" Thus, begins the color game.

"No."

"Green?"

He shakes his head.

"Yellow?"

"No."

"Purple?"

"Yes."

FINALLY!

"Which shade?"

"What?"

"Which shade of purple do you want?"

"… Dark?"

"Ok!" I walk over to the guy behind the counter and ask him for a dark purple iDeath. The man says ok and walks into a door that leads to who-knows-where. He comes back a few minutes later with a box that says iDeath.

"Is this the one you want?" The man holds up a dark purple iDeath and shows it to me. I turn around and call out to Crona. Crona comes walking over in his "shy pose." "Wh-what is it?"

"Do you like this iDeath?" I point to the purple iDeath the man is holding.

"Oh…" He timidly nods.

"'K!" I swiftly turn myself around and look at the red-bearded man. "That one please!"

"Ok." The bearded man does his _thang~!_

After a while of asking Crona information about where he lives, and other personal information, he gives him a paper and tells him to fill it.

"Ok… thank you for signing the form…" He takes the form and sets it down. He types a few words on his computer and tells us how much the phone costs. "Ok… the phone costs…" Typing a few more words in his computer, he calculates, "$199.99! Plus tax!"

My mouth doesn't drop, but my eyebrows rise. DAMN! THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY! Well… for me anyways.

I look at Crona. He's reaching for his pocket… He has a pocket on his dress? Interesting…

He takes out a black wallet from his pocket and opens it. He takes out a few hundred and twenty dollar bills from inside.

He hands the dollar bills to the man. The man's eyes grow wide and his mouth drops to the floor.

"Ok…" The man takes the money and counts it.

A while of counting and typing more words in his computer, the man gives Crona another piece of paper and gives him the box.

"Just fill that form and I'll give you your new iDeath!" The man gives Crona the paper and the thumbs up.

Crona nods and begins signing the papers.

I'm just here chilling… waiting for all this to be over. I need to know what's happening with Arachne and my aunt and step-uncle.

"OK! Just take your iDeath and leave!" The man smiles and gives us both thumbs up.

"Thank you!" I bow down at the large man and walk out the building with Crona.

I take my phone out and call Adriana.

"Hey Adriana!"

"_Hey, what's up?"_

"Do you know what's happening between Arachne and Rebecca?"

"_Nah, they just told me to go over to a friend's house because they had to discuss something in private... The nerve! Right?"_

"Yeah…" Sure. "So you _don't _know what's happening or what they're doing?"

"_No, sorry."_

"Oh!" I walk around the streets a little bit. "Wait! Where are you?"

"_I'm at Maka's!"_

"You are?"

"_Yep!"_

"And what is she doing?" I ask her suspiciously.

"_She locked herself in her room. She told me to entertain myself with the TV and Soul told me to entertain myself with Blair!"_

"Blair? Who's Blair?"

"_She's this very developed girl who can transform herself into a cat… or is it the other way around…? Anyways when I came she was naked and hugging Soul in the couch… It was weird!"_

"Um… ok?" I didn't want that mental picture in my head but now I have it anyways!

"_Anyway, why do you ask, are you going to come over and pick me up?"_ I could hear the hopefulness in her voice.

"No… actually I'm going to Deathbucks." Hurray for last minute plans!

"_Deathbucks? Take me with you~!"_

"Sorry… but I can't."

"_Why?"_

"Well…" Oh I got it! "Why don't you go to Death the Kid's house?"

"_That's a great idea!"_ She hangs up.

The nerve! Eh. Whatever.

I turn around to face Crona. It appears that there's something interesting on the floor… nope just dirt. "Crona do you want to go to Deathbucks?" I ask him while pointing back.

"… Um… sure…" He nods his head timidly.

"Ok, let's go."

* * *

Deathbucks is a lot of Starbucks! Gee, I wonder why.

Crona and I had ordered two coffees and a basket of chocolate-chip muffins! Most of the muffins, though, were consumed by Ragnarok. I stared in awe as Ragnarok ate his last remaining gulp of muffins, leaving Crona and I only two. I take a muffin and nibble at it.

"Um…?" I look up to see Crona looking to his side and blushing.

"Did you want something Crona?"

"Y-yes… C-C-Can you h-help me, w-w-with this phone?" he asks timidly.

"Sure."

I spent the following hour teaching Crona about the iDeath. I added all his friends to his contacts (with the help of Maka), I managed to download some music he likes from a website, and I taught him how to send messages and how to shorten words in order to text faster.

At the end of the hour, a call from Rebecca entered my phone. I immediately answered it.

"Hello, Rebecca?" I asked, my heart thumping erratically.

"_Hi, Mary sweetie, you can come home now."_

"Oh…" I gulp. "Did you… um… did you talk with Arachne?"

"_Oh yes."_

"And… um… and… What happened?"

"_Nothing much, please pick up Adriana as well, and head over to the house."_

"O-Ok…" She hung up and I removed my cell phone from my ear.

I gulp again… Did that mean yes… or no…?

* * *

The whole walk home I was incredibly depressed.

I didn't exchange any dialogue with Adriana, or Eruka, or Crona. I kept silent the whole way there. My imagination was too busy planning my dismayed life ahead.

Was I going to leave Death City? …Probably.

Was I going to hate my new life? …Absolutely.

I mechanically unlocked the double doors to Robert's house. I only take two steps inside when I'm attacked. The only word I hear is, "Amator~!" before I hit the floor.

Oh… it's just Arachne… Why is she attacking me _now, _out of all the times?

"Geko, Lady Arachne," Eruka yells, "please get off of her!"

After a while I realize that it's becoming harder to breathe, this time, I struggle to get her off of me.

"Sh-Sh-She's struggling!" Crona yells in fear.

"Hey Ms. Big Boobs; I thought I made it clear the last two times! You're going to _crush _the girl's lungs! Do you w_ant _her to die?" Ragnarok yells.

Oxygen suddenly enters my lungs, as Arachne gets off of me. I try to get up on my own, but end up following to my butt. The lack of oxygen made me dizzy. Two hands pick me up by the arms and help me back up. "Thanks," I tell the two hands.

"You're welcome," both of the two hands reply.

I dizzily look up at Arachne's smiling face. "Why are you so happy?" I ask with my eyebrows furrowed.

"Didn't Rebecca tell you when she called?"

"Tell me what?"

She throws herself on me, and tightens her hug. "We're going to live together!"

My eyes widen to the size of plates. "What…?"

Ragnarok screams from behind me, "SHE SAID, THAT YOU TWO ARE GOING TO LIVE TOGETHER!"

I creakily turn my head around… "Thanks Ragnarok," sarcasm overflows my words.

"No problem!"

I turn my head around to Arachne. "Rebecca said it was okay? Then why—?" I cut myself off, when I look at two large muscled men wearing blue shirts and black pants coming from the right room carrying giant cardboard boxes.

Following them, Rebecca and Robert emerge.

Rebecca and Robert walk up to me and pause. Rebecca is the first to act. She throws her arms and hugs me. "Oh sweetie, I'm going to miss you!"

I feel tears coming on!

I hug her back. "Thank you Rebecca… I'll miss you too." I close my eyes and deepen the hug… It's amazing how, just recently, I found out that she's really my aunt, and that all my life I have been calling her "mom."

I'm really going to miss her.

When she breaks the hug I can see small droplets of tears in the corner of her eyes. "Oh Rebecca, don't cry…"

"No, no," she shakes her head, still smiling. "It's fine… Just… please… Take care of yourself. And please write to me and call me, ok? I still want to see how you're doing."

"Sure…" I take a shaky breath. "Of course I will."

Rebecca goes to Adriana and says a few words to her, when she's finished…

"Great." She looks back at Robert. "Well Roberto, I'm waiting in the car."

"Ok sweetie," Robert, or should I say _Roberto _(giggle, giggle), responds.

Once Rebecca leaves to the car, Robert begins talking, "Mary… I knew from the beginning that you didn't like me. And in all honesty, I don't blame you. But listen to me, I really do love you, I thought of you as my own daughter this whole time, and I know that I'm going to regret—nay—I already _do _regret, that I didn't spend any time with you, you know, to get to know you better." He put both of his hands on my shoulder. For some odd reason… I don't mind. "But please…I'm begging you…take care of yourself. And write back, and call us once in a while. It would really elevate us in whatever situation…Okay?"

"Alright Robert," I respond.

"Good," he smiles and takes both of his hands off my shoulders. "Well, please listen to whatever Arachne tells you, she's going to be taking care of you from now on. Please, also take care of Adriana…"

"Okay."

He spreads out his arms. "Can I at least get a hug?"

Uhhh… No. "Sure." I smile up at him and hug him.

I break the hug and he goes over to Adriana and says his goodbyes. Adriana's _really _going to miss him. He's the only one who has ever spoiled her.

Both of the double doors close, and I'm left in a house, with only five friends.

"Well," Arachne says. "Who wants to see our new place?"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Yay, happy-ish ending! :D

I do not own the "This is Halloween" song.

Thank you for reading!


	14. A Call from Death the Kid

****Thank you for the reviews.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

* * *

I opened the apartment door, and stepped inside, to reveal a small living room. The small living room contains a medium-sized orange couch, a small square TV in front of it, a glass window in the background that seems to lead to a small balcony.

I took a few steps forward and looked to my right; there was a small kitchen inside. I walk inside the small room; there was a small refrigerator, along with a couple of cabinets, and a sink. I turned around, and got out of the small kitchen and I saw a circular dinner table, with four chairs surrounding it. I guess this is the kitchen _and _the living room.

I turn around to see Arachne smiling, Eruka bored, Crona monotone, and Adriana questioning.

"So…Where are our rooms?" I ask Arachne, while shrugging.

"_Room," _she corrected.

"Ok…So where is it?"

"Okay, follow me," Arachne started walking, and I followed, along with the rest of the crew.

Arachne turned right, not even passing to where the living room is, and walked down the hall.

She stopped when she reached a white door, at the end of the hall.

"This," she pointed to the white door, "is the bathroom." She opened up the door and stepped inside, when none of us moved, she turned around, and ushered us to follow.

We all complied, and we all pilled inside the small bathroom. There was nothing special about it. There was a white toilet in the right corner, with a carpet surrounding it, a sink right next to it, and a bathtub, with a shower head.

"Ouch!" Adriana yowled. "Eruka, you stepped on my foot!"

"Geko, I didn't step on your stinkin' foot!" Eruka shot back, a little annoyed, I assume, of the lack of space.

"Yes you did, now apologize to my foot!"

"I will _not _apologize to your foot, for something that I _didn't do_, geko!"

"Well, then, who did it?"

"Not _me_!"

After we all exchanged some glances around the small bathroom, we all evacuated the bathroom.

Arachne was the last to leave the tiny bathroom, when she did; she turned around and closed the bathroom door behind her.

"Where are the rooms?" I ask again.

"_Room," _Arachne corrected again.

"Ok, where's the _room?" _

"Here," Arachne introduced a new white door that was on the left side of the hall. She opened the door and stepped inside, we all followed without hesitation.

The room was the second largest in this whole apartment. There were two bunk beds, one on the far off wall with a window located next to the upper bed, and the other one, at the opposite end. A few inches away from the bunk bed that has a window, was a dresser: an ebony dresser, with six cabinets. Besides that, the rest of the room was empty, and left for us to decorate.

With what money?

Arachne turned around once again, and put on a smile. "And that's the end of the tour; please exit to the door behind you."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait… That's _it! _There're no more rooms?" Adriana couldn't believe that we were going to live in such a small apartment.

"Adriana, just be grateful that we _have _an apartment," I turn my head to lecture.

"But it's so small!"

"Look, it's either this," I look down at the floor. "Or no Death the Kid…forever," the word 'forever' seemed to echo inside her head, until she finally responds.

"No, no, no, no, no! That's okay!" She nodded her head in an alarming rate. "I _want _Kid forever." Adriana's mood suddenly changed; her eyes drooped and her face darkened, "Wait a minute," she whispered. She turned her head towards Crona. "Crona," she called out. Crona looked up from the floor at the blonde.

"Yes?" Crona whispered with rose eyebrows.

"You won't tell Kid…Will you?"

"I, um…" Crona continued to stutter as Adriana's glare kept intensifying.

I got in the middle of it all, "Adriana!" She snapped her head towards my direction. "Crona will tell whoever he wants, now let's go to the living room, _before _Eruka passes out."

We all look over at Eruka who is trying very hard not to collapse on the floor. Her whole face is a light shade of green, and her cheeks are puffed, as if she's holding in the urge to...

"Are you sure she's just not going through a transformation?" Adriana asked, with both her hands on her hips, and a rose eyebrow.

"I'm pretty sure…uh-oh, MOVE PEOPLE MOVE!"

* * *

I walk out of the bathroom, and go over to the living room. Where Adriana, Eruka, and Arachne are giggling at whatever they're watching on TV.

"Adriana," I call out. Adriana peels her eyes away from the TV screen. "It's your turn to shower."

Adriana groans, but reluctantly elevates herself from the couch. She mumbles something about life being unfair, as she drags herself over to the bathroom.

I walk over to the couch and sit down where Adriana was sitting. As I look towards the TV screen I quickly note that these three girls were watching _Jersey Shore_.

_Were._

I grab the TV remote and change the channel. As soon as Snooki left the TV screen, Eruka shouted, "Hey!"

"Hey," I responded back, as I continued to click on the remote.

"We were _watching _that!" Eruka complains as she tries to get the remote.

"Well now you're not."

I switched the channel to something more _appealing. _Like the _Big Bang Theory_! I just love that show!

Eruka, though, doesn't understand its awesomeness, so she decided to leave the living room and go to our room. Before she left, she muttered, "Geko…this is why I need my own phone…"

Now I know what I'm going to get her for her birthday! …Now…when's her birthday…?

After a while, Adriana returns from her shower and sits down next to me. One look at what I'm watching and she explodes.

"But I was watching _Jersey Shore_! That's _waaaaaay _better than _this _crap!"

"How _dare _you? _Jersey Shore_ is _stupid! _It's all about drunk, horny, and high adults! The _Big Bang Theory_ is _waaaaaay _better!"

We exchanged a few more lines of dialogue before we're interrupted with my ringtone.

I pick up my phone. "Yello?"

"_Hi, is this Mary?" _A male voice asks.

Well…now I'm frightened. "Yeah…? Why? Who is this?"

"_This is Death the Kid."_

My eyes widen and I immediately look over at Adriana. She's still glaring at me and waiting for me to finish my conversation, so she can continue bugging me.

It's best not to tell her that Death the Kid just called me. If I tell her, she would just attack me.

"Oh hi….What's up?"

"_Oh nothing much, I just wanted to call you to inform you that Father has assigned a mission for you and Adriana."_

"Oh. Do I…have to do it…now?"

"_No, no, the mission isn't for today. I'm calling to tell you that your mission is for tomorrow in the early morning, and that you have to meet up with Father in the Death Room. You remember where it is, correct?"_

"Oh yeah, don't worry, I remember….At what time do I have to be there?"

"_Father said at 5 o'clock sharp," _NOOOOOOOOOO! _"And you're also going to be working on the mission with another meister and his weapon."_

"Thanks Kid."

"You're talking to Kid!" Adriana shouts from the right. I look over at her. Oh chizzle-puffs! I forgot!

"_You're welcome….was that _Adriana _yelling?"_

With my right hand I push on Adriana's face, holding her back. "Yeah it is; don't worry, she's just very excited that the _Powerpuff Girls_ are coming on next on TV. Anyway, thanks Kid!"

"_Um…okay…your welcome."_

I take my phone away from my ear and end the call. I set my phone down on the sofa, and with both hands, I push Adriana away.

She lands on the couch and the couch bounces. "What the heck is wrong with you?" she yells.

"_Me? _Are you kidding! What the heck is wrong with _you? _Attacking me like that, pfft!"

"Dude, you know that I'm crazy about him! ….Wait a minute…How does he have your number?" she asks while invading my personal space.

"I don't know." I push her away with my hand and continue, "The only people that I know have my number are: Maka, Soul, Marie, Rebecca, Robert, and you." I shrug and take my phone again. "I should probably add him to my contacts now…."

"WHAT?"

I ignore Adriana and save Kid's number.

"Dude!" Adriana still gasps, as if I'm committing some sort of crime.

"What?" I turn my head over to her.

She claps both of her hands together, and closes her eyes. "Please give me his number, _please!"_

I look at her as if she's crazy, which she is. "No. If I do, then you're just going to spam him!"

"Spank?"

"No. Spam!" How did she hear 'spank'? Oh Adriana….

She tilts her head to the side, and I sigh. "Spam is when you overflow his phone with text messages."

"Oh~!" she says in realization.

"Anyway," I shake my head. "He's going to know that I gave you his number without his permission, plus, he'll give you his number when he _wants _to."

"That's not _fair!" _she whines.

Who said it was fair? "Why don't you try and actually have a _conversation _with the boy?"

She slightly blushes. "I can't…" she mutters, averting her eyes.

"Why not…?"

"I'm afraid that I'll humiliate myself and say something stupid."

"Adriana…you have to _talk _to him. If you don't do that, he'll never get to know you. And none of your fantasies are gonna come true."

"It doesn't even matter," she shrugs. "Liz and Patty have a higher chance with him then _I _do."

"Well duh, they actually _talk _to him!"

She narrows her eyes, and remains silent.

I breathe heavily. "Look I'm sorry if I was too harsh…." she slightly looks up at me. "But what I'm saying is the truth…I'll help you. Whenever Kid's around, we'll engage in conversation, like that, you'll have a chance to talk to him."

Her depression mood subsides, and she looks at me excitedly with stars in her eyes. "Really? You'd do that for little ol' me!"

"Sure," I reply with a smile. "That's what partners are for."

"Awesome! So…can you give me his phone number now?"

"NO!"

* * *

Once I woke up at around four in the morning, I looked around the room, and—at first—found myself confused. But then it hit me: _Robert and Rebecca moved away from Death City…I now live with Arachne, Eruka, and Adriana in a small apartment._

I look to my left and gasped.

Arachne was laying there—right next to me…. My eyebrows furrowed. I remember—yesterday I went to sleep on the bottom, right bunk bed, and that Arachne went to the upper bunk bed….Did she creep down there while I was asleep?

Well, it seems like that's the only explanation. I assume her…_crush _is _this _strong. Should I…tell her something? I don't know…I'll think about it.

I learned many things yesterday when the tour finished and Crona left. I learned a few things about my two new witch roommates.

I decided that the best way to get to know our two new roommates was to play a game! Like…Truth or Dare!

I learned that Eruka is a coward, and that she admits, that even though she's a witch—she'd rather flee than fight; and that she can become really clingy towards her partners. And when Adriana's Dare to Eruka told her to show off one of her best abilities—Eruka had conjured up a tadpole bomb, and was about to drop it on the floor, when I quickly yelled at her to stop. It was a close one—she heard me, before she let the bomb drop.

Arachne's a bit different though. Because most of her memories were wiped out, she doesn't know what Arachnophobia is, and she forgot of all her acquaintances—such as Mosquito, and Giriko. She also has no clue of who Asura is, and she also doesn't know what on earth a Kishin is either. So basically she doesn't remember a thing! But…I'm pretty sure she may still have some memories of her other late years.

Some of my Truths towards Arachne were surrounded on what she could remember; Eruka asked her about personality—no doubt she was worried about what Arachne might do to her in her sleep, since she is the elder sister of Medusa, in whom which Eruka was most of afraid of. But one look at Arachne's clueless face and anyone could tell that she was as harmless as a stuffed bear.

Adriana asked Arachne to reveal a secret. Arachne revealed that she loved champagne, and that she would need some soon.

After that little interesting game, I went to the kitchen to make dinner, while Adriana, Eruka, and Arachne continued to play a different game.

I sigh and returned back to present day, I look back down at Arachne. I won't complain or anything—to be honest, I don't _like _sleeping alone; I only _do _because I have a nightlight most of the time. But, sadly, I didn't pack my nightlight from Robert's house, so now I have to sleep alone without a nightlight. Now it all makes sense. No _wonder _I slept so peacefully! I actually _had _a _human _right next to me! …Even though I wasn't aware.

I shrug and get up from the bed. I presume to make my day: I went into the bathroom, took a shower, and went back inside my—our small room. I went over to my backpack, took out my black binder, ripped a page, took out a pen, and scribbled on it:

_Dear Arachne and Eruka,_

_Adriana and I will return–actually I don't know when–but we'll return from a mission that Lord Death assigned. We have to be there at 5, so that's why I won't be here to make breakfast, so you two will have to figure something out. _

_Mary_

_PS- Don't spend all of our money and—Arachne no spiders—Eruka no frogs—and defiantly no human experiments or manipulation of any kind, and no magic! …And no blowing up the house, or making it messy, or ruining its interior in any way, shape, or form…Thank you. :)_

Once I finished the letter, I folded it once and placed it next to Arachne. After that, I proceeded to walk over the next bunk bed. I bent down and shook Adriana's shoulder.

"W-What?" Adriana said, as she turned towards me. Her eyes opened slightly as she peered to me. "Is Kid here?" she asked with hope.

"Adriana…? C'mon it's time to wake up and do the mission."

"Mm…." She closed her eyes again and fell asleep. Not deeply though…

"Adriana, Adriana, Adriana, Adriana, Adriana, Adriana, Adriana, Adriana, Adriana, Adriana, Adri—"

"WHAT, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?" Adriana shot up and screeched.

I pursed my lips and smiled sweetly. "It's time to wake up~!"

With her eyes filled with bitterness…and death—she rose from her bed completely and stalked over to the dresser.

I love this job!

* * *

"You're so lazy!" I yell back at her.

"How the hell am I lazy? I'm just _tired!" _she complained as she dragged her feet up the DWMA stairs, one by one.

"I wonder who we're working with…" I whisper to myself.

"Hopefully it's Kid!" Is it just me…or are my whispers really loud?

When we finally get up to the top of the stairs, most of the time being consumed with Adriana's lazy—I mean tiredness—, we enter the school and presume to go to the Death Room, where the great Lord Death is!

As we finally arrive to the Death Room, I can see a blonde-haired kid talking to Lord Death; he's holding a simple sword on his left hand.

When I reach the little group, I bow, "Lord Death," I look back up. "Kid said you wanted us for a mission."

"Oh yes, hello Mary, Adriana, nice of you two to make it!" Lord Death bounces around.

I can feel the blonde kid staring at me…and I really wish for him to stop. For some reason my eyes tear up when I know someone staring at me, and every move I make seems pressured.

I decide to shoot him a glance, and my eyes meet his green ones. My eyes cast down, and he nervously looks away.

Lord Death tilts his head to the side. "Oh yeah, you three don't know each other!" Three? Doesn't he have a weapon partner? "Allow me to introduce you three to each other! Girls, this is Hero," Lord Death motions a giant white hand to the blonde. "Hero, this is Mary, and Adriana."

"Where's your weapon partner?" Adriana asks with both her hands behind her back, and her head facing him.

"Oh, I don't _have _a weapon partner," he replied with a nervous smile. "You see, my earlier weapon, Excalibur and I had to break up."

"Why?"

Suddenly Hero's face darkens, and puts on a disgusted face. "His sneezes…His sneezes never stopped after the first one!"

"Uh…." Adriana looked blankly at him.

"Anyway!" Hero says, suddenly. "I just have this sword as my weapon." He fumbled the sword around the air.

_Hero's appearance is close to that of a bishōnen. His facial features include bright green eyes and mid-length blonde hair. _

_His clothes consist of a white shirt; that only has buttons in the middle and embellishes with three golden circles upon its right side, also featuring two interconnected straps hanging downwards from the shoulders onto his back. This is worn with burgundy/light purple pants with a black linear pattern, held up by a white belt. A black studded collar encircles his neck and a black tie is also included but it is worn extremely loosely_

I quirk an eyebrow, and look at Adriana. She's blushing a shade of pink. Oh great! That means she thinks he's hot.

I sigh…another boy that Adriana's going to go on and on about…just great.

"You two are paired up together in this mission, because you barely have any experience!" Lord Death said.

"Oh…so it's a mission for newbie's?" I ask him.

"Exactly right!"

I sniff. I feel so great about myself.

"So, the mission consists of you three going to Las Vegas."

"Las Vegas?" I question.

"Yes—Las—and—Vegas! Anyway, when you get there you must go to Golden Nugget and find the Evil human that goes by the title, 'Crazy Nugget'."

"Crazy…Nugget?" Ok… a little odd… "And what does he do?"

"The Crazy Nugget stalks casino winners until they're alone. When they are, he simply kills the winner, eats their souls, and takes their money. It's really causing havoc in the city, and the police can't seem to ever catch him or identify who this man really is. So I need you two to kill the Crazy Nugget, and save the winner, and all the other future winners!"

And this mission is for newbie's? One without a weapon even! "But…which one of us will take his soul?" I ask, slightly confused about the possession.

"Oh," Lord Death tilts his head to the side. "Well, whoever kills him, I guess!"

"Ok…So, how will we get to Las Vegas?"

Lord Death simply shrugs. "I don't know; you three are smart! You can figure it out!"

"Alright," I bow. "Thank you Lord Death." I slap Adriana's back and she bends forward.

"OW!"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Yay Hero is introduced! For those of you that don't know, he is from episode 32 - Legend of the Holy Sword 3 - The Academy Gang Leader's Tale? If you're not familiar with this episode it means you probably skipped it…because it has Excalibur.

Fun Fact = In the manga, the 9th edition (book), Hero is introduced as the worst meister ever.

_Bishōnen = _A popular Japanese (and Korean) character type, the Bishōnen, or "beautiful boy", is a male character that possesses androgynous or 'feminine' physical traits. He is usually tall, slender with almost no fat, usually little to no muscle, and no body or facial hair.

I do not own: The Big Bang Theory; Jersey Sore; The Powerpuff Girls.

Thank you for reading!


	15. Preparation

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

* * *

"Why are we here?" Adriana questions loudly, earning a few annoyed glances from others.

"Can you keep it down?" I whisper angrily.

"Answer my question!" she yells angrily again, though, with a lower tone.

I sigh. "We're here to buy some supplies before we leave."

"What supplies?"

"Well…" I look around the isle we're in. What am I doing? We're in the isle of eye drops and other materials to cleanse your eyes. "Wait, we need to go over there," I point to a lady behind a white counter, who is speaking to an elder woman.

I walk towards the white counter, while Adriana noiselessly follows.

While we're waiting Adriana asks again, "Why are we here?"

"I need to buy a contact lens."

Her eyebrows furrow. "Why?" She waves her hand in front of my face. "Are you blind?"

I slap her hand away "No."

"Then why?"

"Do you honestly think I could go to a public place with a crescent moon on one eye and not the other? People are gonna think I'm some sort of lost circus freak!"

"…But you're dressed like one…" Adriana muttered.

I shoot a glare at her direction.

"Sorry…" she mutters apologetically. "I meant to say…That you're dressed like a _mime!" _she declares happily. Adriana looks away and suddenly smirks. "Why do _you _care about what people think, anyway?"

"Tch, it's like you don't know me at all."

Adriana simply shrugs, and the one woman behind the counter turns towards me. "Yes?" she asks politely.

"Hi, I'm here to buy a contact lens."

"Oh, sorry, we only sell in pairs."

"Oh it's okay." I wave my hand dismissively. "I'll just buy a pair of contact lenses then."

The woman nods, "Do you want a color?"

"Yes, I want the color of my eye; in order to cover up the crescent moon on my left eye."

The woman ushered me to go with her to find the right contact lenses for me. She measured my eye size, and got me a pair of green contact lenses; she then gave me instructions and warning about wearing the contacts for too long.

After I payed for my pair of contact lenses, along with some eye drop bottles, I walked outside with Adriana, and completely stopped in shock.

There was a taxi-like car parked right on the sideline. The car was black with purple lines going through it. On the car's roof, there was a sign that declared it to be a _DeathTaxi._

The back door window rolled down and Hero's face appeared. He was wearing a smug smile, and he said, "Hey, get in."

I walk towards the car and bend down. "Um…where did you get this?"

"It's one of the many services in Death City."

"Oh…"

"Well…get in!" Hero said again, happily.

"I can't, Adriana and I still have to pack for the trip."

"Why? The reason Lord Death told us to meet him at five in the morning was for us to simply go to Las Vegas, find the killer, kill him, and for us to return within a day."

"Oh…" Well I feel stupid.

"Yeah, so get in already," he instructed, still politely.

I raise myself up, call Adriana, and get inside the car; so I'm in the middle, Hero is on my left, and Adriana is on my right.

With that our _DeathTaxi _driver slams on the accelerator and drives off, towards the sleepy morning sun.


	16. Lady Gaga : Poker Face

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

* * *

I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, _and hate _Hero. I thought he was a nice guy back in the Death Room…but boy was I _ever _wrong! This guy is drop-dead _annoying! _The whole way traveling to Las Vegas he wouldn't stop talking!

Now normally, I don't really mind if someone talks a lot. The more they run their mouth, the less _I_ have to. But when the person is running their mouth in order to _constantly flirt with you…_then it's a problem.

An _annoying _problem…that I would like to slap…and probably will.

He would flirt nonstop; he would go on and on about my every aspect.

"You're hair's so silky and beautiful…I would like to run my fingers through it." _Like hell!_

"You have eyes that melt my heart, and I could just swim in them for days…" _I wish they _would _melt your heart!_

"The last time you looked at me, my heart leapt out of my chest because you have such a way to convey every feeling through your eyes." _What?_

"When you look at me, I can see nothing else; you captivate me with just one look." _Oh boy._

When he ran out of comments for my face…he moved on to the body.

…

I had to eventually kick him in the shins in order to shut him up.

At first, Adriana was surprised. Then she turned nuclear: she began to glare at me, and I swear that I could feel the _hate _radiating from her eyes. At last, she got used to Hero's annoying voice and she stopped being bothered by it. I guess she thought to herself, "Eh, who needs this guy? I still have Kid after all!"

But Hero was a different story: he didn't stop, even when I hit him for going into an uncomfortable territory. He _would not _stop talking!

I was so _happy _when we reached Las Vegas!

The three of us went inside a fast food restaurant to plan what we would do at night.

Adriana breaks the awkward silence by saying: "So… what are we going to do?"

"Well," I begin, "I was thinking that when we get in there—we split up, and when one of us finds the winner, we call the other, and we stalk the stalker!"

Hero shrugs. "Good idea!" Then the waitress comes and we order our drinks.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Adriana suddenly calls out. Hero and I turn towards her. "That's it?"

"Yeah, pretty much," I tell her with a raised eyebrow.

With that plan already…well…_planned_—all we did was eat and exchange a few stories with one another.

Hero told us about how he and Excalibur were practically in control of DWMA and how he was…"Reborn." I'm glad _I _wasn't there at the time. Since I checked out the book on Excalibur I learned some interesting things. If anyone were to wield Excalibur they would have been granted _amazing _and godly abilities, such as: the Wings of Light, or Instant Movement, or even Spatial Rift…. So I really wouldn't have liked to be there when Hero was Excalibur's meister…especially with the 'feelings' he holds for me now.

And all we told Hero was that we come from Carson City, and that back then, we had boring lives. Therefore, Hero was the one who shared most of his life stories; most of his "lives stories" though, were about him and Excalibur. And most of his time with Excalibur was a little odd and conceited.

When the moon rose and the sun descended to the ground, we all got ready and ordered a taxi to go to the famous casino Golden Nugget. Once we paid the taxi driver, and got out of the taxi, we made our way to the grand entrance and took a look at the amazing building.

The color of the building's interior is golden brown, with small illuminating lights. "Alright, let's go!" I begin to march up to the doors, but a hand holds me back. It's Hero's hand. "Don't touch me."

He quickly takes his hand back. "Oh sorry, but we can't just enter like it's all good."

"Why not?" asks Adriana.

"Because," Hero looks over at her, "we're under aged."

"I thought DWMA allowed us to break several rules because of our status as students," I clarify.

He looks back at me. "Well think about it: let's say they don't let us get in. Then we have to sneak in somehow, right?"

"I guess," I shrug.

"Then if someone sees us, we'll get in trouble. So we can't take any chances."

"Fine, so what are we going to do?" I just want to get this mission over with and go home to sleep.

"I say, we _sneak in."_

"Let's do it!" Adriana excitedly agrees.

I shrug again. I'm not so sure about this. Maka told me otherwise...But, I'm obviously not going to get anywhere with Hero. "Alright, I'm on board."

* * *

I'm in the Casino Floor along with Adriana. We are both sitting in stool chairs facing a collection of alcoholic bottles! Yeah that's right, we're facing a small drinking bar, and looking over our shoulders at the various adults playing games on arcade machines. But we're—at least _I am_— paying most of our attention to the three tan casino poker tables.

I asked the bartender and he told me that here is where most of the adults win big amounts of money.

"Ugh, this is taking _forever!" _Adriana whined next to me. "When are they gonna finish playing?"

"Dude, chill your pants, and just wait until their done. Also, make sure to keep an eye on any suspicious individuals who may be gawking at the casino tables."

"Like…us?"

I look over at her. "…Oh my Josh, that's true."

"Hey listen I need to pee, so Imma go now." Adriana does a little "peace sign" and gets up from the stool chair. But she's not going to the bathroom…she went the wrong direction.

I sigh. Oh well, I guess _I'll _have to stay and watch. I turn to the front of the counter and ask the bartender for water.

After I finish the water, I sense a shadow next to me, I turn to see _Hero _sitting where Adriana resided. "What-what-what are _you _doing here?"

"I got bored, my love," he shook his hair, and sprinkled…_glitter(?) _to the ground.

"Was that…_glitter?"_

"…It's actually sweat."

"Ew..." I complain.

"Hey don't blame _me! _There was this sweaty fat guy next to me while I was watching some people play arcade games!"

"…Whatever." I turn around and out my head on the counter, absorbing the cold to my forehead.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Want me to buy you a drink?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"I already had water."

"Playing hard-to-get, I see."

I shoot my head up from the counter, and look at him. "What?"

"Nothing!" he looks away and suddenly snaps his head back at me, with a surprised look on his face. "Look, look, look!" he slaps my shoulder three times, in the rhythm of his excited words.

"Don't touch me! …What is it?"

"I WON; I WON, IN YOUR FACE, _MOM_!" A sweaty fat man wearing a light blue shirt, and tight-fitting jeans, shot up from his seat and pumped both of his fists into the air, revealing sweat stains on his armpits.

"He won!" I whisper to Hero.

"Yeah," he turns back to me, "he did."

I quickly took out my iDeath from my pocket, unlocked it, and called Adriana. "Adriana!"

"_What?" she angrily screamed._

"Get over here, this guy won a poker game."

I hear a click, and immediately looked at my phone's screen. She hung up on me! Well… hopefully she makes it.

"Now what do we do?" I ask Hero while putting my phone away.

* * *

"Bye mom, bye Uncle Fred, bye Marissa, bye…chhh…_George." _The winner of the poker game said his good-byes to his family and exited the Golden Nugget.

What the fat winner _didn't _know is that he was being stalked by the famous criminal by the name of 'Crazy Nugget'. He was quietly looking at the fat winner as he walked away with an ear-to-ear smile. The Crazy Nugget kept his distance as he silently followed his prey.

"Ohohoho, Mable is going to be so _happy _when she sees that I've won!" The winner was waiting for the 'go' sign on the street to glow. His mind about what he would buy with all this money was interrupted when he heard two fateful footsteps behind him. The winner, alarmed, turned around and saw the Crazy Nugget: a tall man wearing tan detective jacket, with black pants and black boots. His face was completely concealed by a tan cowboy-like hat, and his only feature that revealed him is his glowing red eyes.

"Oh…it's just some…creepy guy…" the winner muttered and turned back around. He noticed that the 'go' sign had turned on, so he began to cross the street. Though, he grew worried when he heard footsteps behind him. But he refused to look back; so he kept going down the vacant streets, and turned around to a dark alley: a way as a _shortcut._

This shortcut was proved to be a fatal mistake as the man was stopped by the Crazy Nugget, who somehow appeared in front of him.

"Uh…Oh, hi…um….Good Sir…" the winner said shakily.

The Crazy Nugget was not a hesitate killer. He drew one hand from the inside of his jacket, and with a **clink **a set of large, metallic-like claws eradicated from his hands.

As the Crazy Nugget raised his claws, the fat winner made a few shaky, muttering sounds. The Crazy Nugget swooped his hand to the winner's chest, but the claws did not connect.

A plastic sword had gotten in the way of the contact. Hero had blocked the attack; he turned back to the winner and told him, "Why are you just standing there? Move—fat guy—move!"

The winner took a stuttering step back. He was frozen in fear, and not sure of what he should do next.

I, on the other hand, am waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Hero was now backtracking as the Crazy Nugget viciously continued to hit at him, but he was failing with his attempts to connect with skin, because Hero kept blocking all of his attacks. But, of course, there's only so much Hero could do.

From the shadows, with Adriana balanced on both of my hands, I dived in to where the Crazy Nugget is, and with my knees bent and Adriana high in the air—I dove her in, and crashed her spiky end with the Crazy Nugget's head.

Adriana went completely through—as if the Crazy Nugget was made of water—and cut the Crazy Nugget in half. When she hit the floor, I looked up to see Hero, with beads of sweat on his face, grinning. "You did it!" he told me.

I looked up to see the Crazy Nugget's red scaly soul. I can't help but break into a smile. "Heh, heh-heh, I-I, I can't believe I did it!" I killed my first Evil human!

"Yay!" Adriana cheered. She then turned back into a human. "So…I have to eat that?"

"Well…yeah, I guess…right?" I ask Hero.

"Yeah," Hero responds as he puts his sword back into its sheath.

"A-Alright…" Adriana gropes the red soul, opens her mouth, and puts it in. She slowly chews it, as her face changes in a mixture of emotions: first confusion, then disgust, and then finally, pleasure. She then swallowed the soul and said, "Hey that was actually pretty tasty!"

"Th-th-that's them!" Hero turns around, and Adriana and I look behind Hero to see the winner, pointing a shaky finger at us, with a _police officer _right next to him?

"Uh-oh~…" Adriana sings.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't own Lady Gaga's song Poker Face; I just thought the title was fitting for me. I've never been to Las Vegas or the Golden Nugget, so the information was from the Golden Nugget's official website. If you want to check it out, go ahead.

The (…) at the beginning represents an awkward territory/moment.

But this mission is obviously not over yet! :D

Thank you for reading!


	17. Hatred

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

* * *

We didn't ponder about what we should do. I mean, what were we going to tell the officer? "Oh—don't worry—my friend here just ate the soul of the Crazy Nugget, because he was trying to kill _him. _You see, we're DWMA students whose job is to take the souls of Evil humans and—" Then we'd be handcuffed.

So, like normal people—well as normal as you can get when you've just killed an Evil human with a club—we ran away from the police.

We bolted out of that alley, and that alley led to another street. Oddly enough, this street was filled with cars. "Wh-Wh-What do we do?" Adriana yelled in panic.

"Well," Hero began, "I say we—" Suddenly Hero gasped, and skidded to a stop.

"What is it?" I yelled, as I stopped as well.

"We could drive _away _from the police!" He said with a wide smile.

"How?"

"We'll take a taxi!"

"Are you crazy? That's thievery!"

"But—there's no other way!" Hero then said calmly, "C'mon Mary. It's not like we'll steal it…We'll leave some money."

My leg rattled as I thought it over. Oh, we're going to get in _so much trouble!_

"Fine!"

Hero wasted no time. He went to the edge of the street side, and put his hand out. At taxi driver noticed him and stopped. Hero went to the side, and rummaged in his pocket, and took out a couple of green dollar bills. The taxi driver took the money, and hurriedly got out of the car. He saluted Hero as he got inside.

"Mary!" Hero called out. "Get in!"

I took Adriana's hand and dragged her to the taxi. I got inside the passenger seat and slammed the door closed, put on my seatbelt, turned by head to the back and told Adriana, "Put on your seatbelt child!"

Adriana was too…um…_disturbed, _I guess, to fight. So she complied and put on her seatbelt. I looked over at Hero who stepped on the accelerator and zoomed down the street.

"So, what's the plan?"

"The plan is, to get outta here alive!" Hero yelled.

"…You're stupid…" I muttered.

In just a matter of seconds I heard police sirens behind us. I looked back to see a police car driving behind us.

"Um…Hero…."

"I know!" Hero then swerved to the left in an attempt to lose the police. He didn't though. The police car swerved as well and followed Hero.

A bunch of cars honked in annoyance and shock, and also avoided us. "Hero! You know the DWMA rules! If we make too much damage during a mission, all of our souls get confiscated!"

"Oh it's okay! I don't have any!"

"…"

He turns to look at me, but then I snap. "Keep your eyes on the road! I am _not _going to lose my first evil human soul! So you _better _keep your eyes on the road and not cause any damage! You understand that, blondie?"

His eyes momentarily widened and his lower lip quivered, he looked back at the road. "Y-Y-Yes!"

At some point during the whole car chase, Hero was able to lose the police cars…Yes, that's right, _cars, _because Hero's driving was chaotic. He crashed a couple of other cars, almost ran over a few innocents, and ruined the traffic.

We exited Las Vegas with ease, and I was actually starting to calm down, which enabled Hero to slow down, but when the car suddenly bumped with something on the road, it started to slow down.

"Wh-What happened?" I ask Hero.

"I dunno." Hero stopped the car and got out. He checked the tires and quickly retreated back to the car, slammed the door, and turned to me. "It seems we stepped on some road spikes."

"Can the car still run?"

"I—" Hero didn't finish his sentence when he heard the police sirens. "Oh shit! Not again!" Hero started the engine and hit the accelerator, but the car didn't go very fast.

"The police are gonna catch us!" I took my hand to my face. We're gonna die~!

Hero opened the car door roughly and told me to get out. I complied and got out, also managing to get Adriana out. It seems that she's in shock.

Then…we made a break for it, we started running. But of course, we can't outrun _police cars, _and I had to eventually stop and take a few ragged breaths. But Adriana said something that made me look up at the sky. "It's Kid!"

Death the Kid, armed with Liz and Patty, was flying on Beelzebub: his flight-capable skateboard.

"Yes!" Adriana cheered. "We're saved!"

* * *

I lost the one soul Adriana and I managed to kill. Lord Death confiscated it, when we reached the Death Room.

We had caused a lot of panic, damage, and we had gotten attention from the police. Not to mention the fact that we sneaked inside a casino that does not allow under aged children to go inside. And it turns out that we could've gone inside the casino by telling the security guards that we're students from DWMA. I knew it, Maka is always right, damn it! Damn you Hero!

So…when Lord Death was watching how our mission was going, along with Death the Kid (Adriana almost fainted when she apprehended that fact that Kid was watching her), he realized that we would get in major trouble when the road spikes attacked. Therefore, he told Kid to save our butts. This just made Adriana fall for him even more….Now; she's calling him her, "savior." Hooray…

Adriana and I exited DWMA, along with Hero, Kid, Liz, and Patty.

I can't wait to go home, take a shower, have a snack, and go to sleep! I stretch, and then I hear, "Hey Mary." I look up to see Hero.

"What do you want?" I ask, disgusted.

"Can I talk to you in private?" Hero points his thumb to the back.

I look at Adriana, who's talking to Liz about make-up, and blushing as Kid stares at her when she mentioned (on purpose) symmetry.

"Sure." I stop walking and wait until the small group slowly gets smaller. "What is it?"

"I want to apologize about what happened during the mission. I know it was a complete disaster. And I'm _really _sorry…"

I cross my arms over my chest. "Apology accepted, I guess."

"Really?" Hero looks at me disbelievingly, and then straightens up. "Well…heh-heh….Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Would you like…to go out with me tomorrow?"

"No."

His mouth drops and he looks at me, frowning. "Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Why?"

"'Cause you're a moron…with legs," I look at him lazily.

"B-B-B-But I'm hot!"

"I-I-I-I don't care!" I mimic.

"Why don't you like me?"

"I like someone else." I decide to add, "You're an idiot, and you're a dunce."

He ignores the insults, "Who do you like? It's Kid, isn't it?"

"If I liked Kid then I wouldn't be here." He tilts his head to the side. "Adriana loves Kid, and if I ever liked him, she'd kill me."

"Okay….So is there any chance that _we_ could end up together?"

"No you idiot! You're a moron, I'll never like you!" Get it through your thick head!

"Why not?" He seriously questions. Josh, is it so hard to believe?

"Here, let me list out the reasons…" I take in a deep breath and begin, "You're a blockhead, bonehead, cretin, dimwit, dork, dumbbell, dunce, fool, ignoramus, imbecile, jerk, kook, moron, muttonhead, nincompoop, ninny, nitwit, pinhead, simpleton, stupid, and—a twit!"

With that I march off, leaving behind a dumbfounded Hero, staring blankly at where I used to reside.

Woo, that felt good!

I run to the small group and manage to ignore what happened a few minutes ago, and have a normal conversation.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the lack of Crona. It'll actually take a few more chapters for him to appear. Sorry :(

It's true that in the Soul Eater universe the police and many authorities are supposed to know of DWMA. The purposes of the missions are because the police are not able to do it, so Meisters and Demon Weapons complete it. So, what Mary said about the whole "handcuffed" thing in the first chapter is not true, if anything the police might believe them with identification or proof.


	18. Mute

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

* * *

"Hi, what's for breakfast?" Adriana mumbles as she walks to the circular table.

I shoot a glance at Arachne, and she tells Adriana, "Scrambled eggs."

Adriana sits down and rubs her eyes. When she finishes she peers towards me. "Are you okay?"

I simply shake my head.

Adriana's eyebrows furrow and she looks at Arachne for help. "She woke up with a sore throat," Arachne explained for the second time.

"Oh...Lucky~!"

I put on a questioning face, as if saying, _"What the fudge!"_

"Ok," Adriana smiles and starts hallucinating (explaining), "it's simple, really. Now, you don't have to go to school."

_Who says? _I mouthed.

"She still has to go to school," Arachne informs the painful truth.

"Why?" Adriana, for some reason, is very annoyed with this fact.

"Just because she has a sore throat, doesn't mean she can't go to school and learn."

I bang my head on the table.

"It's okay." Arachne says, "See? She's taking it rather well."

I continue to bang my head on the table.

"And _how _is she going to communicate?" Adriana asks.

"Ok! I made these cue cards," she puts a small pack of cue cards in the table, "so whenever someone tells her something; she can just bring up a card!—Look!" Arachne reaches down to the floor and pulls up a strap-looking device…She didn't show me _that._

I frown. And she looks at me and smiles, "This is something I made so you can put your cards in!" She takes the device and straps it on the right side of my hip. "There!" She then gives me the cards. "Now, use them!"

I look through that cards and silently laugh! Ha-ha!

"Ok, ok!" Adriana says excitedly. "Lemme try!" She pauses and closes her eyes, only to rapidly open them. "Hey Mary, how are you?"

I display a deadpan expression. Really…is that all…? You can do better than that!

I skid around the cards until I find a suitable one. _I can't talk. Sore throat._

"Ah!" she exclaimed dramatically. "So…did you find that test hard?" Josh, she's a bad actress!

_Shut up._

"Hey!" she complains.

_No one likes you._

"Really Arachne? You made _those_ cards!"

"Yep, I'm a genius, I know."

_Stranger Danger, I need an adult!_

* * *

"Hey Mary," Maka greets in the halls.

I fumble around the cards and grab two. I show them in order: _I can't talk_. _Sore throat... Hello._

"Oh, really? Well, are you okay though?" Aw, she's a good friend! Unlike the blonde I have to put up with at home and school.

_Yes._

"Well, I hope you feel better!"

I fumble around, but find no "thank you." I can't believe that witch didn't put that card!

_Yes._

Suddenly, the whole gang practically walks up to Maka….Gasp! Maybe Maka's a magnet! I knew it!

"Hi Mary," Tsubaki politely greets.

"'Sup Mary! Is your day better now that the great BLACK STAR is here?" Black Star got all up in my face and asked.

I pull the card in front of his face._ Sure._

"Huh?"

"Mary has a sore throat today," Maka, thankfully, explained. "So, she'll be communicating through those cue cards."

"Oh, lucky~!" Liz said. "It'd be much easier to get through the school day without talking."

_No._

"Huh? Why?"

I look at Maka, and she then explains, "Think about it Liz…she can't _talk_.Period. She can't tell someone how she feels, and I'm pretty sure those cue cards have a maximum of things to say. For example, she doesn't have one that says 'thank you'."

_Hello._

"What?"

I look at the card and blush. _"Oh, sorry," _I mouthed and pull out the correct card. _Yes._

"Heh-heh-heh-heh!" Patty laughs. "You're like a mime!" She puts her hands across her stomach and starts having a laugh attack.

_Sure._

"What other cards do you have?" Kid asks with interest.

_Meh._

"What's _that _suppose to mean?" Liz asks whilst bending forward.

_I don't know._

Soul groans and says, "This is not cool at all."

_[?], you so funny!_

* * *

I collapse my body to the stool and lunch tray to the table.

"Are you okay?" Tsubaki asks, concerned.

_Meh...No._

Soon, the cafeteria is filled with many students. Some at the long lines to get their food, others by the snack and soda machines, some walking to their tables filled their friends, or going outside to eat where the beauty of nature and the light breeze is welcoming. And plus, this room is sometimes claustrophobic and too noisy.

Soon enough our table fills with conversation. Black Star was retelling his tale of his confrontation with Excalibur, while everyone listened along whilst putting food into their mouths.

When Black Star is done everyone else separates into small little groups of their own conversations. I wasn't in any particular conversation, until…

"Do you want your food!" Ragnarok asked, with one balled hand extended.

I decide to give him my food. I'm not really hungry…and…yeah, that's it.

I slide my tray over to Crona and Ragnarok squeaks as the extra plate comes to view. "YES! FOOD! THANKS!"

"_You mean, 'thank you very much'!" _I mumble in my head.

"Hey gorgeous," Hero suddenly appears at the edge of our table.

Oh no, this day just got worse! I inwardly cry.

"How's your throat?" I simply glare at him as I try to find the appropriate card.

_Go Away._

"Huh? Why? I'm just trying to be nice!"

_No... No one likes you! ... Go away._

"Mary," Maka says, "that's not very nice."

_Yes._

"I dunno what her problem is," Hero informs loudly.

I can't believe this! Hero's a bitch! Maka doesn't know how utterly _annoying _he is!

I must fix this problem! I fumble around again and find the perfect card: _Stranger Danger, I need an adult!_

"That's mean Mary," Tsubaki comments.

"Real harsh~!" Liz says.

Ugh, forget this!

I rise from my seat, and walk out of the cafeteria. As I walk I allow my train of thought to take off.

What does Hero want to gain from embarrassing me in front of my friends? Does he want revenge from last time? He's _really _annoying me!

"Hey Mary!" I don't need to turn around to know who the annoying voice and footsteps belong to.

"Um, Mary?" Hero asks, wondering why I won't turn around.

Oh how I wish I had my voice!

I turn around and shove the, _Go Away!, _card on this face. I take it back, and continue to storm off.

"Look, I'm sorry that I embarrassed you! I just want you to go on one date with me!"

HA!

Sadly, he's now jogging next to me. "C'mon!" He clumsily stumbles, but continues to keep up his pace."I'll tell ya what. If you go on a date with me, tonight, then I'll tell your friends that I was being a jerk! How 'bout it?"

_Go Away._

"Mary, c'mon, I'm making an irresistible deal with you!"

I completely stop, and he involuntarily takes a step forward before turning around once again.

"_Listen you; I don't _need _you in my life! I just need you to _leave me alone! _I don't like you, I will _never _like you! So, _please, _be a nice dolt, and GO AWAY!" _My throat must be dead, because not one sound escaped my throat. So, I just looked like a moron, mouthing unheard words.

"Ok, I have no idea of what you just said…_but! _You're so _cute _when you're mad!" He adds in like a little b—

"So how 'bout it?" he asks again.

"_NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO…AND _NO!"

"…You're mean…" he pouts.

"_Your face!"_

"My god, you're mean," he calmly says. He takes another shot. "Ok…just go on _one _date! No one needs to know! …Just _one _night! And I'll tell your friends the truth."

Ok…I have an idea. I grab Hero's hand and drag him inside the school.

We walk around until I find Dr. Stein's empty classroom. I enter the room and walk towards the board, grab a piece of white chalk, and write:

_OR. I could simply wait until my voice heals and explain to my friends that you're a…_

I didn't finish the sentence due to the fact that a teacher might come in.

"Ah but you see, that's where you're wrong!" I raise an eyebrow. "You're 'friends' barely know you. So they wouldn't trust you right away, especially with the way you treated me…But they _know _me, because I've been there classmate for…uh, sometime now."

I make a face and roll my eyes. I then go back to the board and erase. "C'mon, please~?" he begs some more.

Ugh!

…Should I though? I mean, it's only _one date_, it's not like it's going to be so butt-numbingly painful. Just one date…and everything will be okay…but is it really the way to go? I mean, I have no voice as of now, how would I explain that it's because Hero's annoying? I don't know how he acts when it comes to other people. Maybe he doesn't act like a jerk to them…And he's right. I barely know them…and I acted like a bitch when Hero was simply asking how I was.

Sigh….I guess I'm the only one here to blame…

I unwillingly write on the board: _Fine. I'll go on one date with you. _I hear a small excited gasp. _But after that, you must explain to my friends! Understood?_

"Yes my love," I turn towards him, he salutes me like a soldier, "I understand!"

I erase again and make another face. I then walk out of the room.

* * *

**Author's Note: **The whole "cards" thing was influenced by my friend Anthony. He's really anti-social and as a sort of joke, he wrote answers he would later show to other people to communicate on his hand. I even influenced one of his options: No one likes you. But instead of making Arachne write on Mary's hand (I don't really like it when people write on themselves, just think of the ink going inside you!) I made her invent cue cards.

Thank you for reading, and I thank all my reads for, well, reading, and my reviewers, and everyone else! You all make me happy to be alive!


	19. Hell

**Author's Note: **I'm sorry for the long wait. I was busy...you know, with summer reading and life. I also went to Jupiter, where there's no internet. So I took advantage and started writing like crazy. I'm truly sorry if the long wait bothered you.

**Warning: **This chapter has violence, bad words (I feel like a small child for saying that), and blood.

**I do not own Soul Eater.**

* * *

"Heh, you're pot looks like a deformed monkey."

"Your _face _looks like a deformed monkey."

He swiveled his stool back to his creation. "You don't have to be so mean about it," he mumbled.

I sigh and claw the mushy substance. I'm so bored. I swivel my stool to face Hero. "I'm bored."

He displays a cat smile. "Well, my love, we can go somewhere else if this place bores you."

Aw…that didn't get him irritated. I crossed my arms against my chest and swiveled back to the front. _Anywhere I want, huh._

Something suddenly clicked in my head! A smile spreads on my face. I got it! I turn to face him again. "Why don't we go—_ice skating_?"

His eyes widen and he slowly gulps. He slowly turned his head towards me, "Huh?" he manages to gasp, as beads of sweat fall from the side of his face.

"I said—"

"Oh I heard you!" He pauses for a moment as his eyes dart side-to-side. _Jackpot! _

He suddenly gropes his brown mush, and starts rubbing his hands against it. "Um…" I perk up at the sound. Good, he's finally going to answer. "Uh…okay."

Okay…?

Okay?

Okay!

Are you kidding me! I thought I had hit the nail right on the head! I had overheard Hero confess to one of his buddies that he's afraid of ice skating. Gah!

"Are you sure?" I ask. This can't be happening...

"Yeah," he suddenly smiles, as if he's now _certain. _He turns towards me, all traces of fear and uncertainty _gone. _"Let's go now." He gets up and exits the room...

And this is officially happening!

Oh Josh, I'm screwed.

* * *

Promises can't be broken can they? It's rude, isn't it? But then again, people break promises all the time, so if I do it _now _will it make a difference?

I inwardly sigh. Ah, forget it. I've been conditioned to not break my promises anyhow…And even if I _do _break my promise then that means that Hero will spread around that I broke his promise to go on a date with him.

Why do I want to break my promise? Well besides the obvious reasons, I want to break that dreaded promise because today I woke up and I could talk again! But my rudeness at lunch can only be fixed by hearing the truth from the victim, not from the criminal. So I can't do anything but go along with the plan.

There's another reason why I want to break that promise.

Ice skating.

Never done it. Never liked it. And now—all of the sudden—I'm going to put on some weird-ass skates and set myself on a whole new surface.

I've never walked on ice, nor have I skated on it. I was never able to enjoy (or be traumatized) by the experience because Sally was afraid of skating, both ice and a normal wooden floor. So, the family never bothered visiting ice skating rings.

So now—I'm completely unprepared! What if I die?

I look around the odd place. Where the hell is Hero? It doesn't take that long to put on some skates!

I look down at the floor, I had already put on my skates, and I've been sitting on this bench for over five minutes.

Should I make a run for it?

…Hm…

"Hey Mary!"

"Ah!" Dang it!

I look up to see Hero, with his ice skates, standing with his hands behind his back. "Oh sorry, did I scare you?"

I rise. "No Hero, I just love to scream randomly."

"Oh really…? Yes, I'm not alone," he gazes up at the roof and basks in his miraculous realization.

I simply roll my eyes and awkwardly stomp my way over to one of the many entryways of the ice ring.

We both entered the ring and I awkwardly held on to the red pole for balance. I scan the room. Many parents and small kids are skating around together; of course there are also couples, groups of teenagers, and groups of little kids. They're all so good at ice skating. I look like a moron holding on for dear life.

"Mary what's wrong?" Hero goes up to me and asks with a puzzling look. What the—? He can skate?

"Hero…you're skating!"

"Huh? Oh yeah of course I am! Why is it so surprising?"

"Oh…err, no reason." This is the last time I'm trusting hearsay.

"Oh…alright then, c'mon," he changes direction, his metal blades screeching against the ice. "Let's go enjoy ourselves." He holds out his hand for me to take.

Even if this wasn't Hero I still wouldn't take their hand. "Um…No."

"Eh? Why not?" He draws his hand back.

Because I'm scared I might fall and break my butt-bones! Does your butt even have bones? I don't know. "I don't want to hold your hand."

"That's mean!"

"Who says I'm nice?" Honestly, when will this human get it through his head that I am not interested!

He casts a depressing look at the ground and deeply sighs in defeat, "Fine." He then turns his back on me and skates away.

I blink.

I actually got rid of him. I thought he was simply going to skate next to me….Ah whatever.

I turn to face forward, at my greatest enemy…Ice.

* * *

HOLY MUSHROOMS!

"Hey watch where you're goin'!" An angry mom complains as I had almost run over her child.

"Sorry!" I apologize, looking back…big mistake.

When I look forward, my eyes immediately widen as I hit someone's back.

This person's back is apparently made out of iron, because when I hit it I completely fall back on my butt. Fortunately, I didn't break any bones.

The young woman turned around, and she stared at me with daggers in her eyes. A vain popped out from her forehead and she angrily yelled, "What do you think you're doing?"

I got up and apologized for the second time, "I'm really sorry ma'am, it just that I don't know how to—"

"Nah, nah, nah, don't talk to me!" She gave me the hand and turned around to the burly man she was formally talking to.

I made a face at her and cautiously made my way back to the edge of the circular skating ring. I held on to the pole and scanned around again. I spot Hero talking to a blonde blue-eyed female just a few feet away in another section of the ice ring.

Wow. And we're on a date. He's so nice...Well I guess is shouldn't be talking. I mean, I've been nothing _but _mean to him.

I desperately look around for something to entertain myself with…nothing. In the eyes of anyone else I look like a complete and helpless moron doing nothing but just standing around, looking helplessly here and there.

I stomp for a few feet when I hear a sudden shake.

Startled, I look around to see what had created that sudden shake. I'm not the only one who noticed, many others stopped what they were doing and looked around. Many murmurs filled the room:

"What was that?"

"I don't know."

"What's going on?"

"Mommy, I'm scared!"

"Don't worry sweetie, it was probably just a machine or something…."

Machine…? I don't think so.

Another shake arrives, but this time, I can tell from where it's coming from. I look over to the left and hear sudden screams.

"Watch out!"

"Move out of the way!"

"Be careful!"

"Ah! What the hell was that?"

"Warn the others!"

"Call the police!"

Soon enough, what caused the noise arrived and entered the ice ring.

Everyone in the ring grew silent as they all stared—eyes widened, mouth agape—at the…_thing _that was currently making the only sound…a low-ragged breath.

The thing has a vaguely humanoid form and it's constructed from a random arrangement of twisted assortment of pipe-like structures, especially on the torso. Within the torso there is also a thin and wire-like limbs extending outwards from this mass. It is incredibly ugly, but still surprisingly cool-looking.

The thing (I shall name it Bob!) opens its mouth to reveal a set of sharpened razor-like teeth. Saliva dripped from his mouth as he let out a terrifying, blood-curdling scream.

The scream immediately forces me to cover both of my ears, but even that didn't block out the horrendous sound. The others cried out in pain as Bob continued to scream.

He finally stopped and suddenly there was a blur of a multiple winter coat colors. Blue, yellow, red, white, and multiple other colors invaded by vision as a whole mass of people evacuated the ice skate ring.

I shriek when I feel something on my hand. I look at my right hand and stare up to identify who the hand belongs to: Hero.

I simply stare up at him until he finally speaks, "Mary, are you okay?"

"Huh?" My eyes widen and I look around, for some reason still startled. "Oh yeah I'm fine, don't worry..." Then I remember Bob. "Bob!"

"Who?" Hero yells louder than usual and struggles to hear me, holding his ear closer to me.

"Bob! Ugh, that guy!" I point to where Bob is.

Hero looks at his direction and his eyebrows furrow. "How do you know his name?"

"I don't know his name—it's just a nickname! Anyway—what are going to do!"

He momentarily looked at the skating ring. "Okay everybody has evacuated! We can now—"

Clanking sounds against the ice grabs my attention. I look back to where Bob used to reside and find him a few more feet away from where he was. He's stumbling over to the front of the ring, where many are still watching Bob with both horrified and curious expressions.

But Bob did something completely unexpected when he reached the wall which separated him from the others. He smashed it.

Glass flew everywhere and hit the unsuspected victims. More yells of panic exploded and soon enough, a mixture of crying and panicked faces where evacuating the entire building. But one name changed the situation, "Jessica!"

Oh Bob, you lunatic.

He grabbed the same woman who I had bumped into. She screamed in panic as Bob took her in a vice-grip around the stomach. He took her away but stopped when Hero and I approached him.

"Bob! Drop the girl!" I commanded, hopeful that Bob would listen.

Hero looks at me while sweat-dropping. "Uh, Mary, I don't think he understands you…"

"Drop her, or we'll be forced to kill you!"

Bob still continued to stare at us with a blank expression. And Jessica finally started to complain, "Help me you idiots! Get this monster off of me!"

_He's not even _on _you… _"Don't worry ma'am, we'll get you down from there!" I turn to Hero, "Ok, so we're going to kill him, capiche?"

"How, though?"

"We have to find a way too—"

Suddenly a shadow is casted over me.

Uh-oh.

* * *

What would you do if your teammate was unconscious, the ice skating ring's ice was broken into several clumps, and you have no (good) weapon to defend yourself whatsoever?

Any normal person would either run away or call the police. But I have to stay and help, it's my job as a student of the DWMA.

So, after Bob failed to smash me into bits, he hit the center of the ground and created cracks. Then Hero charged in without any form of hesitation and got swept aside, and hit a wall, dragging him into unconsciousness.

_Good job Hero! I'm so proud of you!_

And now I have two skates on both of my hands. The only weapon I have.

I zigzag and jump from ice platform to ice platform and—when I reach Bob—stab him with my right skate. Bob simply glares down at me, but has a harder time to hit me with his free hand. So I jump back before he can flick me away.

I stop and gasp for breath. I've been at this for over five minutes, and all I've manage to do is stab him on his left side, and he hasn't even bled! What is this?

I have to make some sort of plan; I can't just jump forward and expect something to happen.

"Why did you leave me Jessica?" I look up to see Bob staring at the girl. Did Bob just…talk?

"W-What are you talking about?" Well, Jessica looks like she's about to pee. "W-Who are you? Damnit girl, help me!"

Calm down child! I just heard Bob, a weird deranged monster, talk. Let me soak in the moment.

…Ok, 'been soaked in!

"Don't worry ma'am!" I run up to Bob again, but before I even strike, I'm flicked away with a comment, "Don't get involved, girl!"

I hit the wall next to Hero. I don't know how people can simply shake off the pain and get back up! They must be made of iron!

"So tell me Jessica…Why did you leave me? Was it someone else? Tell me Jessica!"

I assume he squeezed her because she groaned, "Ow! Stop…your…hurting…me…!" I would _love _to get up and be flicked away some more, but my back is on fire, so even if I wanted to, I can't.

"Tell me!"

"I don't…_know you!"_ Ha-ha, good one Jes.

"I'm the one you left, the one you left for Raphael!" You know how some fights are actually interesting and you practically beg to hear more? This isn't one of those fights.

"…Don't tell me…You're Michael!" Jessica gasps.

Michael? "Yes, _now _you remember?" Michael my ass! His name is Bob! It's much more interesting.

"I-I'm sorry!"

"No, no you're not!" Bob took his hand and slammed Jessica on his ice platform.

I must do what those people in the movies do: get up and ignore the pain as if it was some itch you can't scratch.

I pick up the blade and run over to where Bob is, jump, and stab his sides…again. And I get flicked away…again.

Ah, screw this! I can live knowing this was my fault! I open my eyes and I spot a black liquid. Hey, it's my blood! Whoa! My blood is back! Whoa, this already happened before! Whoa…I'm a retard.

"Jessica. You have no idea of how much pain I'm in. You dumped for a man who _broke your heart! _So you come crawling back to me! I loved you and I stayed with you, but what do you do?—you return to that bastard!"

Wow, this just got interesting!

"I'm sorry! I was stupid! Please…just let me go." Jessica squirmed, and avoided eye-contact.

"No, we're both going to die together. I can't live looking like _this…"_

"No, no!" Desperation dripped off Jessica's words. "Th-This can work out! We can still be together!"

Bob simply shook his head. "I wanted you to love me again. I though the problem was that I was too weak, I thought you only loved men who were strong. So…I…_experimented. _I did some research that told me: if I eat human souls," Jessica's eyes widened in horror, "I would gain unbelievable power."

Bob darkly chucked. "Boy, was I _ever _wrong...But that doesn't matter now, does it?" Jessica shook her head, while shedding tears.

"I'm _so _sorry Michael. I _do _love you," she confessed, sniffing, "Please…don't do this."

"I'm sorry. We must die together."

I acted with adrenaline. I had to help her, nothing mattered now.

I took off both of the skates. I took one of them, and placed my two feet on the sides of the skate. Now with both of my hands I tugged at the blade, trying to rip it out. I arched my head back, and pulled with all my power.

The pain increased as I added more power. I knew blood was escaping my fingers—I felt the liquid run through my hands.

And _**clank! **_My hands flew up with the blade. I looked at it; my inky black blood was still running down. I cringed. My hands was an absolute bloody mess.

I slowly got up and looked at Bob. He wasn't going to kill _anyone. _Not under _my _watch.

I squeezed the metallic blade, failing to ignore the pain, and ran over to Bob.

Again I went to his left side—the side I had attacked the most—and stabbed the spot repeatedly. I repeatedly stabbed, his blood was splattering all over my jacket and face, I didn't cringe, it actually felt..._good _to have his blood all over me. I switched the position of the blade and started slashing, his blood splattered all over the icy floor, and some into the cracks. Before I can switch the blade to stab him some more I was pushed away.

Bob yelled in pain and I look up. Bob is clutching the side I mutilated. He starts roaring insults.

I sniff. That one hurt my feelings Bob.

Bob drops Jessica into the water. Why Bob! Did it hurt s_o much _that you had to _drop _the woman to her death? Nice going! My date is probably dead, and now, an innocent victim will probably drown.

I get up _once again _and run over to the other side of the ice and dive into the water.

I am so smart~! My body is in pain~! This is the last time I'm going on a date~! ...With Hero~!

I close my eyes as the painful cold suddenly hit me. _Damn! _A few bubbles escape my mouth as I grit my teeth together—I'm quickly immobilized.

I momentarily ignore the pain and open one eye to scan the depths of the water beneath me and quickly spot Jessica's pink jacket. _Hold on! _I kick at the water and nudge myself deeper. It's difficult to do so though, because of the thickness of my jacket.

_Screw this jacket! _I unzip my jacket and pull it off. Now, only with a long-sleeved shirt, I plunge deeper into the ice-cold water. I reach my hand out and grab Jessica's hand. I embrace her, and kick to the surface.

The white light teases me to continue—promising bitter warmth.

When I break to the surface I take in a sharp breath of oxygen, which simply kills my insides. I place Jessica on top of the ice and I place my knees on the ice, and hug myself.

I look up and I stare in shock at the sight…

Hero is awake and laughing hysterically on top of Bob!

Bob looks badly beaten and Hero looks perfectly fine! Hero finally notices me and jumps off of Bob. "Hey Mary! How ya been?" He leans forward with a smile.

Wait, was he awake this whole time! "You no good son of a—!"

"Mary! You're all wet! Let me call the police!" Hero takes out his blue iDeath from his pocket and dials three numbers. He puts his phone on his ear and peeks at me, then smiles, "Don't worry~! You'll be fine!"

* * *

Hero waves happily at the paramedic ambulance that was driving away with Jessica. The paramedics said that she would be fine, and that I did a good job pulling her out of the water in time, and Hero for beating up Bob.

Hero was holding Bob's red soul in his other hand, and both my hands were bandaged.

"Hero," I suspiciously look at him.

"Hm? What is it Mary, my dear? Are you still cold? You better rap that blanket _real _nice around that beautiful, extravagant bo—"

"Ooph!" Hero falls to the ground. I wrap the blanket back on my right arm.

"Shut up and answer my question!"

"Ok," he slowly gets back up, "geez, you didn't have to hit me."

"Actually I did. Now tell me…How did you wake up? I thought you were unconscious."

"Oh Mary~! I was never _unconscious! _I was simply waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, and wouldn't you know it?—when you went to save that girl, Michael let his guard down!" He smiled brilliantly.

"You idiot!"

"Ooph!" He staggers a few feet back. "What the hell was that for?"

His name is Bob! "You let me get continuously flicked away while all this time you could've helped me?"

"You were taking one for the team…?"

"I hate you _sooo much_!" I state again with clenched teeth.

"I know you love me," he says with a smug smile.

I stare at my wrist with great interest. There's something I'm almost remembering…but what _is _it though?

"Are you okay?"

"Shush, child!" What is it...? Was it something that happened during the battle? Or just something from the past? I can't put my finger on it...Wait, if I'm staring at my wrist. Ooh! Blood!

That's right! I coughed up black blood. And it happened when Cruella stabbed me in the chest. So I have black blood…that brings back something else too…But what could it be?

When I get back to DWMA I have to ask Dr. Stein.

Two uninvited arms embrace me from behind. "Ah! You're so _warm _Mary! I can hug you like this forever~!"

"Get the _hell _off me!" I lock my hands together, turn around, and hit him with a conjoined balled fist on his ribs. He groans when he falls again. "That hurt~!"

"Good! Next time: _don't touch me!"_

I need to go to the Gym.

* * *

**Author's Note: **"Black Blood gives its users many physical quantities. The user's speed and strength is enhanced by a great deal when using the Black Blood. The Black Blood grants the user almost complete invulnerability. The Black Blood can harden the entire body, making it impervious to slashing or crushing attacks. Although, without the user's will, the Black Blood does not harden, meaning that this property is not an automatic function of the Black Blood." – Soul Eater wikia

So…because Mary only figured it out _now _(again), her body can't harden, so she actually felt pain.

PS: Michael's appearance looks like The Clown from the Soul Eater Manga (they also made a sort of cameo in episode 43 of the anime), you can see what he looks like in the Soul Eater wikia.

Thank you for reading!


	20. When the Heroine Sucks

**Author's Note: **I don't know whether this chapter should have a different rating. It has some violence, a _disturbed _thought (but…this show's greatest enemy is madness, so I hope it's okay), a perverted attack, and a few curse words (I still feel like a kid for saying that).

**I do not own Soul Eater. Only the OC's.**

* * *

I enter the Dispensary…like a ninja! "Hello Dr. Stein," I greet as I close the door.

Dr. Stein doesn't turn around, he simply answers back, "Hi Mary. How's it going?"

"Oh, it's going great...Um…can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Again he doesn't turn around, he's simply writing on a couple of papers on his desk.

"When I met Cruella…she, you-know…stabbed me in the chest—"

"Yes, she used a type of 'drainage' attack. What about it?"

I swallow the lump that was forming on my throat. "Well, when she did that…I coughed up some blood."

"That's pretty normal; it just means that you took a beating you weren't used to," he answers nonchalantly.

I did not know that. I guess it's because I've never been hurt before. Well…not _physically _at least. "Ok…but something else happened…." I wait for a response, but it never arrives. "I coughed up…_black _blood."

This time Dr. Stein turns around wearing a dark expression. "You know, Maka told Dr. Medusa something similar when she came back from a mission. Apparently she also coughed up black blood. Dr. Medusa told her that blood darkens over time—which is medically true—that could be what happened to you."

Seems logical enough, but… "I understand, but…this happened _twice." _Dr. Stein frowns. "Once with Cruella and yesterday when I went to an ice ring — that's when a deranged monster attacked—"

"Wait, what?" Dr. Stein stops me. "A deranged…monster…?"

"I already told Lord Death; turns out, it was just an Evil Human…my bad," I giggle to pass my mistake.

"Oh…alright, continue."

"Anyways, while I was fighting it, it slammed be on the wall a couple of times, and—like, the third time, I think, I coughed up blood again." I pause and smile. "It was still black."

"So what's _your _theory on it?"

My eyes widen at the sudden request. "I think, that I might…have…black blood…?" I feel very stupid.

Dr. Stein grins with his eyes closed, "Then let test it out."

He motions to a chair in the corner. I walk over to it and sit down.

While Dr. Stein puts on gloves and grabs two latex rubber looking things. "Are you allergic to latex?"

"I-I don't think so…" What's latex?

"Alright." He continues to shift around his desks. He grabs a needle and the two latex things and walks up to me. He instructs me to hold out my left arm on the comforter. Then he wraps both of the latex-rubber-things near my shoulder and pokes at my skin. "Why are you doing that?" I ask with both curiosity and fear.

"Ah! Here's a vein!"

"V-Vein?!"

"Yeah," he looks up at me. "How else do you expect me to draw your blood?"

I stay silent and watch him continue. Next he wipes at the spot with some wipes. And so, he draws near with the needle. And I can't help my reaction. "No, wait!"

He stops abruptly. "What?"

I stammer an unknown language before I spit out some English, "D-D-D-W-W-What are you doing?!"

"I'm…going to draw blood."

"No!"

"Why? Do you have Trypanophobia?"

"What is that?"

"A fear of needles and injections—Fairy common among children, but there're still some who are afraid of needles even as adults. But it's mostly because either the needle is intimidating, or they're afraid of the pain."

"Ah…"

"So, what is it? The pain or the needle?"

"No…it's just…" I'm so uncomfortable. "I've never had any needle shots before…"

"That's impossible." Dr. Stein looks upward in thought. "You probably don't remember."

"Yeah…" I stare at my arm. And look back up, and smile. "That's it."

"Now, hold still."

_Nuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuh!_

* * *

"Dr. Stein?" I ask as I peer my head inside the room. "Did you want to see me?"

Dr. Stein turns around from his desk and waves a large notepad, "Oh hi Mary! Come in, come in."

I enter the room, close the door and stand still facing him. "Come closer!" he persuades. I reluctantly take a few steps towards him.

He looks at his notepad and looks back at me. "Well you're theory was right, Mary."

"Huh?"

"You _do _have black blood."

"Oh." I actually didn't look when he injected me with that needle, (I'd probably faint!) so I'm kinda surprised. "Well…Is it something I should be worried about?" All I know about black blood is that it's blood, that's black. And Crona has black blood as well.

"Well, not really. As long as you don't let the black blood control you, it's not something to worry about."

"What do you mean 'control'?"

"The black blood has some madness in it, but it's still manageable to control."

"Oh, that's nice." Something coursing through my veins can make me go insane…wonderful. "Is that all?"

"There _are _some benefits though. Maybe you should talk to Crona about them."

I nod. Crona plus new powers that would make me less of a wimp? "Sounds like a good idea. Thank you Dr. Stein!" I turn around and open the door but.

"Wait Mary!"

I sigh, and turn around, "Yes?"

"Do you know _how _you got black blood?" Dr. Stein asks with a dead-serious demeanor. That's actually an important question, that I sadly don't have the answer to.

"No," I frown. "Sorry. Doesn't come to mind."

"Huh." He turns around again. "Ok then," he waves his hand in a dismissive gesture, "you can go."

"Sorry," I whisper before I leave.

* * *

"_Talk to Crona."_

Sure, talking to him is simple. But _finding him!_

Ugh! Where the hell is that child?!

I'm outside of DWMA…Well, he's not outside either. There're just a few students hanging out outside, but I don't spot Crona.

I heavily sigh and bend down. Life sucks.

"'ello Mary!" Hero's weird pants are in my line of vision.

"Life sucks even _more _now."

"Well aren't you a bucket of sunshine every time I meet you?"

I raise myself again and immediately start laughing. "Ahahahahahahahaha!"

"It's not funny!" he protests like a drama queen.

"Wh-Wh-eheheheheh!"

"I can't believe you!" He throws his hands at his sides in utter shock.

"Wh-Wh-What happened to your face!" I ask, with curiosity. His left eye is purple, swollen and bruised. It's so funny!

"_You _happened to my face! You hit me!"

"I did not!" I defend, still laughing.

"You did _so_! Yesterday! You hit me!"

"Well," I cross my arms against my chest, "you probably deserved it."

Hero suddenly frowned. "You act like you don't remember."

"Hey, you're lucky if I even remember who you _are!" _It's the painful truth. Something suddenly goes off. "Hey did you tell my friends the truth?"

"Oh!" He scoffs. "So you remember _that _but not something you did to my _face!"_

"Well did you?!"

"Yes I did!" He crosses his arms against his chest and demands, "Apologize!"

"What?"

"I've had enough of you! You treat me like crap and you damage my facial charms!"

"Then stop talking to me."

"Apologize!"

"No!"

"Then I want a fight!"

I'm too weak to fight, so no. "No."

"No?"

"No."

"Hey you two!" I turn my head to see Ms. Marie and a couple of other students. "Are you ready for your fight?"

"You asked Ms. Marie to watch our fight?!" I demand, enraged.

"Yes, now," he takes a few steps back and takes out his sword from his sheath, "are you ready?"

"What?! No! I'm not ready you ignoramus!"

"Hey Mary!" I turn around to see Adriana waving happily as if she didn't just walk into a deathtrap.

"You idiot, what are you doing here?!"

She crosses her arms against her chest and pouts, "Well, I see how it is."

I calm down a little bit in order to regain her normal attitude. "Adriana, Hero wants to fight me."

"Oh I know—that's why I came." She nods with a blank expression.

"What?! You _knew _he wanted to fight me?! Adriana, we're going to _lose _against him!"

Adriana turns her head to the grouping crowd of students and suddenly yells, "Look, it's Kid, Kid's here, oh my god!" She turns to me, "Mary we _have _to win!"

"We're going to lose!"

"How?!"

"We have no experience in fighting another meister!"

"Are you two ready?" Ms. Marie asked as she neared us.

Finally someone who will understand! "Ms. Marie I can't battle Hero."

"Why not Mary?" Ms. Marie blinked her one eye. "You two are in the same level; plus, you have a demon weapon, where as Hero only has an ordinary weapon. If anything you have the upper hand."

"Not to mention that if you walk out of this fight everyone will know you're a wimp," Hero added. He spread his arms to emphasize the large crowd of students that were circling around us.

"Ready you two?" Ms. Marie got in between us with both of her hands on her hips.

"No—" There's a hand on my mouth and it's Adriana's…I spit on it.

"Ew!" Adriana quickly takes her hand away and wipes it on my shirt. "That's disgusting—_you're _disgusting!"

"Thank you, oh so very much."

Adriana regains her composure and glows white, her signature that meant that she was going to transform. I pick her up and put her over my shoulder. "I really don't want to do this."

Hero places his sword across his chest and says with a smug smile, "I'm gonna _love _this."

Ms. Marie places her arms in between and draws it back declaring that the battle has begun.

Hero wasted no time to attack me. He ran right up to me and aimed his sword at my stomach, but I roughly blocked it with Adriana—a clashing sound was made.

I grip Adriana with my two hands, raise her up, and aim to clash her 'head' on Hero's head. But Hero dodged it and Adriana ended up crushing the ground. I examined the floor: she had made a small hole.

I looked back at Hero; he was swinging his sword with a mischievous smirk. He raises his sword and zooms in to strike at my shoulder, but I slam it away with Adriana. Hero recovers and aims to stab my face. I block with Adriana, but I'm too cautious with her not hurting my face, so I miscalculated where he was going to strike—which ended up being my forehead.

I close my eyes and brace myself for my untimely fate, but when I felt nothing, I opened my eyes to see several spikes holding Hero's sword back.

As I get a closer look it has come to my attention that Adriana somehow manipulated the curved spikes to make a sort of shield against Hero's attack.

Finding this as a great opportunity, I quickly jump back and catch my breath. "Thanks Adriana."

"No problem." She sounds pretty shocked she was even able to do that.

I place Adriana next to me, and lean against her…Big mistake.

Hero took advantage of my position and hurriedly ran over to me. I tried to get Adriana out, but she somehow made a small hole in which she was slightly nudged in. "Shit!"

I suddenly felt something on my left breast. I look down and see Hero's hand; I look back up and see a widened smile, and a small amount of blood coming out of his nostrils.

He squeezes it twice, and suddenly I feel by blood boiling. I picked up Adriana and swung her towards Hero's head.

Hero saw it coming and jumped to the left. He stumbled to the floor, and I walked up to him, dragging Adriana through the ground leaving a trail of attempted bloodshed behind.

_Bashing him to death, blood flowing out of openings, panicked and horrified screams are drowned by the sound of my heart pumped violently and adrenaline rushing through my veins. My muscles harden, and the image of Hero's panicked face sends a pleasant shudder through my spine. A smile plays on my lips._

Hero looked up at me with his eyes widened in fear. _Good. _I raised Adriana up and was about to slam it on him when—

The attack was intercepted.

* * *

All the hatred, violence, and hatred was ceased. My eyes widened as I saw who exactly stopped the attack. Ms. Marie and Death the Kid: Ms. Marie was holding Adriana with one hand, and Kid was holding back my shoulder with another.

"Mary that's enough," Kid said, his eyes narrowing. I retreated Adriana and straightened my figure.

Ms. Marie took a step back and announced, "Because Mary had the upper hand and could've _clearly _killed Hero—she wins the match!" Some students clapped while others still had their mouths wide open.

And I know why. That "madness" Stein talked about. It had taken over.

* * *

The sun's descend marks the time of day as almost dusk. The sun's red and orange rays enter DWMA's hall windows.

I'm at my locker twisting its combination. A note slips out when I open it. I bend down and pick it up.

I unfold my note and read it.

_Mary,_

_As you know I saw your fight with Hero and I have examined many flaws. As a friend I want to help you grow stronger as a meister. Please visit my house the Gallows Mansion at 3 o'clock tomorrow._

_Thank you,_

_Death the Kid_

* * *

"And what do I get out of this?" I ask as I make a knot with the white Karate belt.

"You'll get strength…? And…the security that you will be fine in dangerous missions…?" It seems Kid doesn't understand why I asked such a question with such a simple and obvious answer.

"All I get is strength…? Can I get something else?" I ask as while I make a ponytail with my black ribbon.

"Like what?" Kid asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Money!" I put my hands down and exclaim with a happy face.

"No."

I pout, clearly not pleased. "Food…?"

Kid sighs deeply. "What type?"

"…"

"What's wrong?"

"Where am I?"

"Y-You're in my house…" Kid explains, his eyes squinted with confusion. "…To train in order to improve your strength and emotions in battle."

"Oho yeah~! I forgot!"

Kid simply shakes his head disapprovingly. "Alright, I noticed that you're—"

"Wait! My promised money!"

"Food."

"My promised food! …Let's see," I look up at the ceiling and place a finger on my chin. "I want five boxes of pizza."

"…What?"

"Five boxes. Why is that too much?"

"No!" Kid exploded. "None of that five-business! Make it eight!" He threw his fists and knees on the ground and begged, "Please…make it eight boxes…not three..."

Oh that's right. He's so obsessed with symmetry that he _begs _people to change it into a symmetrical number or his favorite number: 8.

I sighed. "Alright Kid. Eight boxes of pizza it is." I'm going to get fat…so that means that this training doesn't have any real meaning….

Kid pumped his fists up with a smile, "Yes!"

He stood up, dusted off his Karate costume(?) and coughed in a formal manner. I sweat-dropped. "Now, as I was saying, I noticed some flaws in your fight with Hero." He raised his index finger, "One: you were clumsy with your blocking techniques. You have to be accurate so you don't wind up hurting yourself. As a result you almost lost when Hero pointed at your forehead. If he had pricked your skin—you would've lost right then and there. If it weren't for Adriana…"

"I know. I already thanked her."

"So, after _this _training, you have to get to know Adriana's abilities, so you'll do better in missions. Understand?"

"Yessss."

"Don't do that."

"Sorry."

Kid sighed. "So remember you have to _foresee _your opponents' attacks, so you'll block them with accuracy."

"Alright."

He raised another finger. "I actually don't even know but…Can I know _why on earth _you set Adriana on the ground and _leaned _against her? I _really _don't understand."

"I was tired. So I…yeah, I know, I was an idiot."

"Oh yes," he agreed without sparing my feelings. "You leaned against her, Hero took advantage, and you had trouble taking her back…which also brings me to number three...you seem to be physically weak. I had a conversation with Hero, and he told me that during the fight with an Evil Human you took a while to get back up and defend an innocent bystander."

"Wait; aren't number two and three connected?"

"No. Number two suggest that you're careless. You didn't even seem to _think _of the consequences. It makes me wonder what was even going inside your brain and what made you think that resting—"

"I thought I could get a small break—!"

"No! You're not supposed to be so _reckless!" _I roll my eyes in annoyance. "Now," Kid took a stance. "Let's begin with your first problem."

"Ugh!"

"Why are you complaining?"

"Because…I'm tired," I whine.

Suddenly my feet are kicked from underneath me and I fall to the ground on my bareback. "Ow!"

I open my eyes and glare at Kid. "I don't care. Now let's begin."

"You're mean!"

"I. Don't. Care. Get. Up."

"Fine~!" Once I rise I hear a number: "10." Kid stares at the black stopwatch on his hand. "It took you exactly 10 seconds to get up from the floor."

"So?" I asked quizzically. "If you ask me, that doesn't seem so bad."

"Are you kidding me?" Kid asks with a dark edge. "Black Star can get up in _two _seconds."

"Two?!"

"Two."

"Wow."

"So imagine what Black Star would say if he saw this," Kid swings the stopwatch from side to side similar to what a hypnotist would do.

I took my best guess: "'You suck'?"

"No." Kid stares at the stopwatch from the side. "He would say something along the lines of: 'Don't worry, with my godly help I will _whip _you into shape!' …So who do you prefer? Black Star or I?"

"You…?"

"Why the questioning tone?"

"Because I'm not sure…"

"Black Star would train you without any precautions," that word reminds me of Adriana, "he would ignore any of your complains of pain. He wouldn't care of your opinions at all."

"Ok, so Black Star's training would be my personal Hell…so what's you point?"

"My point is…Stop complaining. I decided to train you because if I didn't, Black Star would. And I'm sure you'd die before you can complete a pushup—"

"HEY!"

"But it's true isn't it?!"

I glumly look down. "Yes…"

"So choose Mary: you stop complaining and put your heart into this, or Black Star will snatch you up and take you to Hell…Your choice."

* * *

"Now block!"

"OW!" I fall down on my shoulder. But I ignore the vibrating pain and get up.

"Good job," Kid smiled. "You learned to get up faster. And yet—!" His palmed hand struck my stomach. I groan and fall on my knees. "You still can't _foresee _my attacks…" He takes a hand to his hair and sighs. "Let's take a five minute break, shall we?"

"Good…idea…Ugh…." I fall to the ground on my face without care. I'm going to stay here until I can get up.

A few minutes later a new voice appears. "Yo."

I place my cheek on the floor and look up. Oh, it's Liz. Liz is holding something…something that looks wet…something that's sending my throat on fire…WATER!

I shoot up from the ground which throws Liz off. "Wow."

"LizLizLizLizLizgivemethatwat erpleasepleasepleaseplease—!"

"Wow dude!" Liz holds her hands out. "Calm down! Now, repeat yourself, _slowly…"_

I took a deep breath. "Can I have your water." It isn't a question for a _reason. _Kid has trained me non-stop for the past two hours ("Oh the symmetry~!"), with nothing but hitting me in places where I'm supposed to '_foresee' _and block, and if he's not doing _that _he's lecturing me about how I should stand or how I have a deficiency disorder.

"_Now, what do you do if an enemy is running towards you?"_

"_I should—ooh a window!" _

And all those mean intelligent words he's been using, and all that physical nonsense has really gotten me dehydrated. I really need the H2O.

"Oh, this isn't water. This is soda."

"Soda, water, same thing, gimme—OW!" Something hits me on top of the head and almost knocks me down to the floor.

"No, Mary," the voice scolds as if I'm some animal being trained. "It's not a good idea to drink soda when you're working out."

I raise my head up and glare at Kid. "Says who?"

"Says I...Now," he takes me by the shoulder and leads me to the center of the room. "No, wait, I want some water!"

Kid sighs heavily. Am I really tiring him _that much? _Kid turns to Liz and asks her, "Liz can you bring Mary some water, please?"

"Why don't _you _Kid?" Liz asked with both of her arms crossed against her chest.

"Okay…?" Kid left the room in a confused daze.

Liz walked up to me and said, "Okay, spill it, you and I both know that—wow, what happened to your eye?!"

I touch my left eye. "What do you mean?"

"Why isn't there a crescent moon on it?"

"Oh!" I smiled. "I'm wearing one of my contact lenses."

"Why?" Liz asked, amused of the fact of wearing one contact lens.

"Because I know that Kid will just hate my asymmetrical-ness."

"Aw, don't worry, you'll both get through it," Liz said in a mushy voice.

"What."

"Remember," Liz winked. "Love conquers all."

"Huh?" I slumped. "Wait, you think—? Oh no!" I started to laugh. "No Liz, you have it all wrong! I don't like Kid!"

She placed her hand on my shoulder, closed her eyes, and shook her head. "It's okay Mary, you're in denial, it happens to everyone."

"No, I'm serious, I like Crona!" AW FU—

Her eyes snapped open and she quickly withdrew her hand. "You like Crona?!" she yelled out in surprise.

"NonononoIdidnotjustsaythatId idnotjustsaythat!"

"Dude, relax." I looked at Liz's face; she's trying to act relaxed when she's still freaking out in her head. "It's okay. I won't tell anyone. I'm just surprised that you like Crona. I honestly thought that you liked Kid…But I was really far-off! Who would've thought that you liked _Crona, _the guy who looks like a girl!"

I didn't say anything. I waited for her to say something else, or to change the subject. "Sorry. I just thought…"

"It's fine," I shake off the awkwardness by laughing. "You should probably have this 'love conquers all' talk with Adriana. She's the one who loves Kid."

"Really?" Liz asked, flipping a strand of hair to her back. "I didn't know that."

"Eh?" How could she not know that? It's so obvious. "Oh she _loves _Kid alright. She told me that she's going to pay a kid to draw a picture of him so she can put it up on her wall…" I shake my head. "She's so weird."

"Yeah," Liz agreed. "That is pretty damn weird…"

One uncomfortable minute passes by before I hear Liz's nervous laughter. "Heh, I wonder what's taking Kid so long with that water?"

"Yeah, me too…"

Liz swings herself back and forth before saying, "I'm going to go check on him."

"Yeah, you go, do that, and stuff…yeah…." Ooh! A window! I'm drawn towards it and I gawk at the outside.

"Mary?" I turn towards the door and see Kid walking towards me with a bottle of water on his hand. "Here," he outstretched the hand holding the water bottle.

"Thanks…?" I take the bottle and drink.

After I finish, I set the water bottle down. "Are you okay?"

Kid looks up and smiles. "Oh yeah, I'm fine...Now," he makes his stance, "let's practice your blocking a bit more."

"Okay."

* * *

"For the love of flying laptops Kid!"

He doesn't stop and kicks my shoulder and knocks me to the floor. "Ow!"

"Get up, we will try it again," he harshly commanded.

I don't get up. I refuse! "No."

"What?" he asks with a deadly glare.

"You've been so harsh to me after Liz left! Why?" I stubbornly ask.

"Get. Up."

"No."

"Mary get up, you're only wasting time!"

I lean forward. "No."

He snaps, "Would you rather be trained by Black Star?!"

"Well, yeah, at least Black Star will be _nice!"_

Kid looks away, and doesn't respond. Something tells me that he's very angry.

"What's wrong?"

Kid lets out a frustrated sigh, but he doesn't respond. "C'mon Kid, just tell me. Don't you think I deserve to know?"

"Ok, you're right." Kid nods, but still doesn't smile. "Tell me…where did you leave the note I left in your locker?"

The note? "Uh…" I purse my lips. I don't…remember. Auck, damn it! I mentally slap my forehead. "W-Why do you ask…? Does it matter?" I ask with a hopeful smile. _I hope it doesn't matter!_

"You lost it," he says without any doubts.

"Ok, so…I might've…_misplaced _it….But, why though? Why do you ask? Does it matter?"

He takes his hand and places it delicately on his head. "Hero was here."

Was that supposed to be dramatic…? "So…?"

"He found my letter I sent you. So, he came here and wouldn't you know it?—he wants a rematch."

"Hahahahaha!" I get up and continue to laugh until Kid's eyes dangerously narrow. "W-Why aren't you laughing?" I ask with a smile.

"Because it's not funny! He told me that you better 'watch out' because he's training."

"So? I'm being trained by a friggin' _Shinigami_! He ain't got shit on me!"

"Please don't talk like that," he chastises automatically.

"Sorry…" That was actually out of character for me. "Who's he training with?" I prepare myself to laugh.

"He didn't say."

Aw…I needed a good laugh. "So, why do you have that worried face? I mean—who _cares _what he's doing! You'll train me to be awesome and I'll kick his ass! Problem solved!" I unnecessarily dust of my hands.

Kid quirks a brow, as if he's spotted something odd. "You want to fight him now? Why did you laugh when I said that he wanted a rematch then?"

"I changed my mind," I explain with a blank expression.

He squints. "You're weird."

"Thank you, child…Now, let's train!" I put both of my hands up when he smiles. "Gently please."

* * *

"Hero!" I holler.

He turns around, and when he sees me he smirks. "Hm…Well, looky here—it's Mary! How was your 'training'?"

"It was awesome!" _It was hell! Kid wasn't gentle at all~! _"So…I hear you want a rematch?"

"Yeah, I do." He cocks his head to the side. "Why? Are you ready for the match?"

"Yeah! You bet I am! And this time," I lightly chuckle. "Let's make it without weapons."

* * *

**Author's Note: **In the next battle we will have another lost of sanity…Kid didn't train Mary about controlling her sanity, that's going to be Crona's job!

I hope this chapter was worth the wait. And I also hope that the Mary's slip of sanity didn't disturb anyone.

**Random Notes:** Yesterday, I went to have some blood removed, so Mary's experience is similar to mine...except I'm not afraid of needles. But I can still understand why some are. I was pretty freaked out the first time (you know, when I could _remember_).

I hope the symmetry is not off, I don't mean _physical _symmetry, I mean, like it can be divided and stuff.


	21. When the Heroine Becomes a Detective

**Author's Note: **Again, sorry for the long wait. But school is coming…and I'm trying to enjoy my last days. But, I eventually shook away my laziness and wrote this poop!

Thank you for reading, and reviewing, and all those other things that make me happy.

As for "Guest (the one who writes a lot)": I honestly thought that you stopped reading the story XD ! I'm so glad you're still enjoying it, and I'm flattered by the compliment. I think you'll find your questions answered in this chapter. And as for the "Mary, life changing thing"…I can't say anything concerning it, because it's top secret. Sorry if it upsets you that it hasn't shown up yet, but the story is gradually gettin' there, at least!

Now, go read!

* * *

The fight didn't happen right away. Kid pushed me into a corner to go over what we had been training for the past two days; Liz and Patty were the ones who brought me a _special _Karate costume…a symmetrical one to be exact (Kid wants me to sponsor him…Don't ask me why); a couple of kids who wanted to see the match between New Girl Who Sucks vs. DWMA's Worst Meister came over to me to ask why I punched Hero in the face; Maka gave me a pep talk and offered some training with the whole "resonance link, soul sympathy, and how to handle your weapon" sort of thing, which I gladly accepted.

Adriana seemed to come out of nowhere just when I was asking Kim to please not bet on who was going to win (I didn't want the ones who betted on me to beat me up later). She pulled me to the side and began to "lecture" me.

"What the hell dude?!" she yelled as soon as she pulled me away.

"What did I do now?" I really have to get back to Kim, bad things happen when money and betting is involved…

"You trained with Kid?! _Alone?! For two days?! _Why?!"

"He…sent me a letter saying he wanted me to visit his house to train," I explain while shrugging. "What's the big deal?" My legs are shaking; Kim, stop it!

"You know I like Kid!"

"Yes! I know! Good for you—you've made that _pretty _clear!" I can't help but gaze over at Kim again...she's talking to a few people…

"Then why do you go off _training _with him?!"

"Adriana, relax, I don't like Kid like that—"

"Yeah, I know, you like Crona like that…" she said with her arms crossed against her chest.

I stopped. I lowered my head and stared at her face, I simply stood there with my eyes widened and my lips in a line. It was only Hero's screaming that suddenly pulled me out. "Hey, ladies!" I looked over at him. He had both of his hands raised in an impatient gesture. "C'mon, finish, chit-chattin'!" The funny part is that he has an eye patch over his right eye.

I don't laugh at the ridiculous blonde; I turn back to Adriana with a frown. "How did you know that?" I questioned. Sure, two people know but…they wouldn't tell her…would they?

She sighed; her point of dragging me here wasn't fulfilled. "Arachne told me."

I made a questioning face. "And how the heck does Arachne know?!"

"I dunno!" She changed the topic, "Tell me: why did Kid want to help _you? _Why didn't he help Hero," she motioned two hands towards the blonde pirate, "instead? I mean—he was the one that almost got _killed _by your craziness!"

"First of all: I am not crazy! Did you even _see _what Hero did?!"

"Yeah," she shrugged, as if what he did meant nothing.

"He groped me!"

"So?" she asks and squints her eyes.

"I'm sorry Adriana, but I don't take lightly to that sort of thing! Especially if it's _Hero! _The child has _pervert _written on his forehead!"

"Really?" Adriana looks back at Hero to make sure.

I grab her shoulder and pull her towards me. "No, you idiot, it's a figure of speech!"

She shakes her shoulder away. "Don't touch me, and don't call me an idiot—answer my question!" She stops her foot in anger.

"Ok, ok…" I sigh. "Your question was why did Kid train me instead of Hero, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, maybe he didn't like the tactic Hero used?"

At that moment Kid neared us and asked, "Mary what are you doing? We still have to sponsor symmetry!" I have no idea what he's talking about.

I ignore what he said; I must deal with Adriana first, then Kim, then Kid. (Yesh, sounds like a plan). "Ah Kid, just the guy I wanted to see!"

"Dude, don't," Adriana was shaking her head, warning me not to bring Kid into this.

I looked back at Kid. "Kid, why did you write that letter to me? Asking to meet you at your house?"

Kid frowned, put-off by the random question. "To help you get stronger?" He looked back at Adriana who, in return, blushed and looked away.

"Ok, but why? I mean, I won the battle."

"Yes…" he drawled. "But…as a friend, I wanted to help your flaws. You only won because you got mad at Hero's filthy attack." I slightly frowned. I hope he meant mad, as in insane, not as in angry. It _would've _been anger…but then again I only take my anger so far, I don't try to _kill _someone. Sure, that was a dirty act, but not so putrid enough that I would _kill. _If that were the case then I would've been put inside an Insane Asylum _years ago!_

"So, you helped me as a friend?" I drew out a hand in suggestion.

"Yes…What's the problem?" He turned back to Adriana who was still looking away.

I turned to her as well. "See Adriana? Kid only wanted to help me as a friend! Nothing more, nothing less," I reassured.

"Yeah you're right!" I was thrown off by her overjoyed attitude. "Thanks Kid!" she beamed at him. "Now, will you excuse Mary and me for a few minutes?"

Kid's eyes widened at her sudden, out-of-the-blue attitude. After he's brushed it off he silently muttered, "Okay…" and stalks off.

Her attitude tensed up, and she was back to being dead-serious, which means…I'm not off the hook. "Mary, I don't think—"

"Adriana, Kid's a nice guy right?" I interrupt her, in order to shorten the conversation and make her see the point.

"Y-Yeah…so?" she pouts and rubs her elbow. (I…don't know.)

"So, he's our friend. _Our. _We've talked to him before and all he wanted to do—was help me improve myself, so our lives won't be in danger when we go off on a mission!"

She's still silent: examining the Dojo's floor. "I just…" she shrugged, "didn't understand why he would do that…"

I suggested, "Out of the kindness of his heart?" I took a few steps towards her, and in return she takes a few steps back. "C'mon Adriana, Kid's a nice person. He would help strangers, classmates, and friends. Why is it so hard to believe that he would help me?" I decided to add, "You know very well that he doesn't like me like that."

"How do you know…?"

Jackpot! So the problem is that she thinks because Kid offered some training, that he likes me. Ok…time to crush those beliefs in the best way possible. I start out by laughing. "Adriana! Kid doesn't like me! He's never shown any type of hint or clue that he would like me! Hell—he's never shown any type of hint or clue that he likes anyone _else_!"

Adriana flinches at my words, she then slightly frowns. "Don't yell."

"Sorry. Just _please _wrap it around your mind. Kid doesn't like me, I don't know _who _he might like, but it's obviously not gonna be me. So…stop brooding—because it's _weird _to see you brood!—and start being all happy and annoying again!"

She snaps her head up and complains, "Hey!" I simply laugh. She closes her eyes and inhales through her nostrils. "Ok," she opens her eyes again. And she randomly starts to laugh—guess she thought of something funny. "I mean—you're right! Why would Kid like _you!?"_

"Yeah, you see," I agree as happy as her, before the idea sinks in…"HEY!"

She clutches her sides and says, "I-I mean, you and K-Kid! HA! Y-Yeah, just go, and ch-chase Crona," she giggles a bit more and walks away leaving my feelings hurt.

I blink, and I can't help but think that that was weird. Adriana and I have never had a moment where we've fought about another guy. We've always had different tastes in boys, and just because Kid invites me to train makes her think that there's something going on?

It's not jealousy…_is it? _I mean, she can ask Kid for stuff too and I'm pretty sure he'd return the favor. I shake my head. This is bizarre. She can't _possibly _think that Kid likes me because of an act of caring….He watched our battle, saw some flaws, and decided to help me about it.

Did he ask Hero as well? I dunno!

Maybe when Hero cleared my name…

I suddenly look up. Hero's not where he was before: jumping around, happily waving at the crowd, and waiting impatiently for me.

So where is he?

Did he even clear my name?!

He should've done it. I forgot to ask him to do when we returned, and only remembered when I went to find Crona, which was exactly two days ago.

In those two days I've been training with Kid; and Hero with some guy (come to think it, if Kid didn't know who it was…then _why _would he act so rough and worried?). After I finished my training Liz and Patty offered to take me to the movies where the rest of the gang was….The conversations weren't odd or uncomfortable, so Hero _must've _apologized…right?!

I place both my hands on the side of my head. This is too much to think about! My tiny brain can only hold so much in!

Heh…I'm dumb.

Suddenly another pair of feet invades my vision. Two black shoes…I don't look up, instead I simply stare: a part of me ignoring the fact that these shoes obviously belong to a body.

It's the body's voice that makes me look up. "M-Mary…?"

I shouldn't have been thrown off by who the voice belongs to. Stuttering and the lack of confidence tells me right away that the voice belongs to Crona, it's so familiar right now…etched into my head.

"Mary…?" He frowns, concerned of what the hell I might be staring at.

I snap out of my reverie and greet back, "Hi Crona!"

He takes comfort on his shoulder. "W-What's going on? I-I heard that you were going t-to f-fight Hero…"

"Well…Were you there when I fought him the first time?"

He shook his head. "Oh well, then you should know," I nodded, "that we fought at first because he had already planned it. Or was it because I won't apologize for punching him in the face…?" I add with an afterthought. There's another thing! Why would Hero ask Ms. Marie to referee before I even apologized? Was he planning to fight me anyways even if I apologized?

"Why did you punch him in the face?" Crona's question brings me to again.

"He said something that made me mad," I answered in all honesty. My head flashes back to that day. Our date, outside of the ice ring where the paramedics were driving away, I hit Hero…but in the face? I don't think so! I didn't hit him the eye!

…Did I?

"So…why won't you apologize? I-I mean…did h-he say something s-s-so bad…?" I suddenly gasp as if I was just electrocuted with an eel that was on my symmetrical Karate costume.

"W-What happened?" Crona asks in a sudden worry.

I look directly at his face, which in turn makes him uncomfortable, he gazes away and blushes. I smile and hug him.

"Ah! M-Mary…?"

"Thank you so much Crona!" I take my hands off him. "You've just helped me realize something!" I run away into the middle of the stage, where Hero comes along with a water bottle.

"Ah Mary," he chugs some more water. "Are you ready to be defeated?"

"Sure, but can I ask you a question first?"

He lowers his water bottle and his eyes slightly widen. "W-What…?"

Heh…he wasn't expecting that.

* * *

Who says _I'm _the boss? Who says _I _control the story? Because it's obvious that sometimes I can't get my way.

Hero never answered any of my questions, in fact, I never _asked _them! Nygus, acting as our referee, thought we were ready, so when she came up to us to begin the battle, I knew it was too late for interrogation.

By now, the Dojo had gained a couple of people—the majority of them curious students who heard about the "exciting" rematch.

"Are you two ready?" Nygus asked, her pale blue eyes darting from Hero to me.

"Yes!" Hero replied, his eyes bugging out with a slight bead of swear running down the side of his face. The little poop is hiding something.

Nygus turned her eyes towards me. "And you?"

I nodded. (You idiot! Ask him questions first!)

She nodded as well and blew on her whistle…I don't know _how_—what with those bandages concealing half of her face—and announced, "Alright, everyone! The fight between Hero and Mary Roman! Begin!" She jumped back to give us space and blew her whistle again, declaring the fight as on.

I looked at her. Hm…I wonder why she said my full names but not Hero's. Does Hero _have _a last—?

"Ooph!" The wind was knocked out of me; as I look down I could see a hand. My body falls back and I hit the floor.

Well…that wasn't good for my back.

I propped my elbows on the ground and looked at Hero walking towards me with a smug smile. My eyes widened and I rose with fear. Ugh, what if he's going to touch me again? Nope, not gonna happen, last time was a mistake! (What did you just say?)

I'm not making any sense! Ok, Mary, do not panic. Hero just hit you; calm down and hit him back with what Kid torm—taught you.

I dashed to the right, and began to circle around him; when I was facing his back, I kicked it.

"What the hell?" I heard some kids say. I know why. Because I suck! What am I doing?

Hero didn't hit the floor; he staggered a few feet forward, but when he turned around he had a surprised/confused expression, as if saying, "What the heck did you do that for?" Or, "God, you're weak."

I took a moment to recollect as to what just happened. Ok, I was punched in the stomach…then I kicked him in the back…and…Kid looks pissed off.

I quickly turn my eyes back to the enemy; this is not the time to get distracted!

I think I'm not thinking straight because I'm afraid. And I know exactly what I'm afraid of.

That's why I'm keeping things simple.

Hero ran over to me, jumped, and landed a kick to my face. A collection of "Ooh's!" came from the crowd; my feet tried to desperately stay glued to the ground, but gravity through my head to the ground, so either way, I hit the ground.

_Mary, stop it! Get rid of that shitty fear of yours and hit Hero with what Kid taught you! You're making a fool out of him!_

_Shut up voice of reason! _I shouted at the annoying voice. "Ch," I stood in a crouching position and wiped my mouth. Some blood had leaked from it.

The voice is right none the less. I _have _to win this battle. I _must _get rid of my fear. I can't have people think that Kid is a bad teacher; if I lose, it's _my _fault!

I quickly rise and jump to the left. I need to get distance from Hero. He's acting strange. I can't read his face: he's frowning, and his eyes depict anger and…and what?

Ok, ok, stop thinking about Hero. Who cares, anyways?! Think about yourself! I need to—

"…"

"What's wrong with her?"

"What's she staring at?"

"Kid…what's Mary doing?"

* * *

**Author's Note: **This chapter serves purpose for questions; the next chapter has the answers. Now, I hope no one got confused with Mary's dialogue when the battle began. She's obviously nervous about her fear taking over her and letting Kid down.

Her thoughts are confusing and she's questioning herself a lot. I'll tell you why: she wants to stay intact with her thoughts...before she loses them.

"That's why I'm keeping things simple."—she's talking about not over-thinking about her actions, or she'll eventually lose them.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)

And if you didn't…then I'm very sorry. :(


	22. When the Heroine Loses Her Sanity

**Author's Note: **I would like to start off by saying that I forgot to write a disclaimer on my last chapter… yeeeaah - _-

Then I would like to say, "Thank you!" to the two reviewers for reviewing on the previous chapter. It's amazing what one kind review can do to a person. :)

In other news, school's starting tomorrow D: Well at least where I come from.

This chapter is written in third person point of view. Why? Well, every time Mary is not available I'm going to write a chapter in third person until she is available again. You will notice that in this particular chapter…even when she comes-to…I _still _write in third person. Answer? I was too lazy to suddenly switch over! Sorry!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Soul Eater, only my creations (OC's) obviously.

* * *

Everyone looked at Mary; the girl had her head down, bangs covering her face, so they couldn't tell what she was expressing.

Hero was frozen in place, he didn't know why Mary was just standing there, but soon enough his question would be answered.

Mary slowly raised her head, and when she did all everyone could depict from her facial features was…nothing. Her eyes showed no emotion within them, prior to how they did: showing fear and nervousness; her eyebrows were relaxed, not flexing upward how they did a few seconds ago; and her lips were in a straight line, not how they were before: arched down.

But in a second, her lips spread into a widened smile, with her teeth gritting themselves with more force than needed. Her eyes widened to the extreme with an excited intent behind them…She looked completely crazy. Everyone slightly flinched; she looked insane, crazy…_murderous._

Kid's eyes widened. He knew what had just happened. Mary had lost her sanity. The madness had gotten to her. Kid didn't know all the answers; all he knew was that the same thing happened when she fought Hero for the first time. That time she lost it because she grew angry…now—Kid didn't know what happened now. What he knew was that Mary was acting strange when the battle started. Her movements were out of focus and jittery. She seemed unsure of her movements; it seemed that she was having an inside battle.

Mary began to move; she ran towards Hero and nailed him on his cheek, sending him flying to the right, almost hitting the far off wall.

Everyone's head snapped to where Hero was lying, they could barely make out his bruised cheek and bleeding nose.

Nygus thought it was over. _That was quite a punch…I don't believe Hero is going to—_

Her thoughts were interrupted when Hero got back up. He wasn't going to give up. No way. He had trained with Franken Stein.

_Hero knocked on the Gallows Mansion's door, grinning from ear to ear. He knew that Mary was training with Kid, and he wanted to put some stress and fear on his dear. Hero felt like Mary deserved it, for all those times she mistreated him and insulted him. It had finally gotten to him and he couldn't take it anymore._

_Kid heard the knock right when he had gotten the drink of water Mary had requested; he set it down and walked over to the door to open it. When he saw Hero his face darkened. Ah Hero, the meister who played dirty, Kid didn't like what he did to his friend; it showed not only how low someone could get, but how _disrespectful _someone could be. "Oh, Hero, how are you?" Kid greeted with a fake smile._

"_Kid, can you tell Mary something?"_

_Kid's smile remained intact. "Sure."_

"_Tell her, that I want a rematch."_

_Kid's smile disappeared, he was now confused. "Rematch?" he repeated._

"_Yes, rematch. I don't like the way things turned out in the last fight, so I want a rematch."_

"_Alright…"_

_Hero turned around to leave, but after a few steps he stopped. "Oh, and tell her that this time she's going to lose," he turned his head back and smirked, "because Dr. Stein is training me."_

Dr. Franken Stein was a well-known teacher in DWMA. He was not afraid to hide his sadistic nature and love for dissecting. His title declared him as the strongest meister to ever graduate from the DWMA. He had accepted to train Hero; and when Kid heard that he panicked. How would he train someone to defeat a meister that was taught by the _greatest meister that live? _

_Especially _when the meister he was training was a scatterbrained, easily forgetful, easily distracted, _newbie _who got up from the floor in ten seconds?

Death the Kid knew that he had to train Mary physically, teaching her various techniques to overpower her opponent, and also to defend herself; but knowing her, he also had to train her mentally, so the girl would not forget any of the techniques, or become easily distracted…But Kid knew that her memory was the main problem.

When Mary had returned for her practice the next day, she had forgotten some of the technique's Kid had taught her the day before. Kid had to cram the information into her head; he hoped that today she would not forget anything and hopefully win.

Now, for some reason, the young redhead was overtaken by madness; now he had to hope that Hero didn't die…and that Mary didn't corrupt.

* * *

_This battle…_This battle! _Has been going on for fifteen minutes! _Nygus frowned as she witnessed both of the meisters sparring; using the same force to kick, punch, and injure each other.

Once Hero had risen from the punch, the _real _battle had begun. Hero was fueled with determination to win the battle, and Mary…well…Mary was just bloodthirsty.

By now, Kid sighed in defeat. If Hero had this much strength against an _insane _Mary, then there was _no way _that a _sane _Mary would be able to defeat this man, which meant that Kid had failed to train Mary to her best.

And who could blame him? Only two days to prepare a hopeless case? That wasn't even enough for _Stein! _

Kid sighed and rubbed his temples. Right now he had to think about why Mary would fall into the influence of madness…he would focus on how to train her later, they had plenty of time, now that there wasn't anyone to hassle them.

He observed the battle. Nothing had changed. Mary would attempt to punch Hero, he would dodge, then try to hit back, Mary would avoid, and blah blah blah blah blah!

* * *

Nygus blew her whistle. "Stop the battle! We'll have a five minute break!" Nygus added in a whisper, "_Or _ten _would be better…_" She was tired of being the referee a battle that didn't seem to want to end.

Nygus turned to leave but stopped when Hero shouted, "Ok Mary, that's enough!" He continued to block the numerous punches she kept throwing at him. Mary showed no signs of stopping.

_Uh-oh, _Kid chimed in his head. He ran over to the duo.

"Kid, what are you doing?!" Liz questioned her meister's decision to get in the middle of the dangerous fight.

Kid didn't respond; he threw himself in the middle and separated the two sweaty meisters.

Mary didn't like that…She lunged herself at Kid—gravity betrayed the young Shinigami, and they dropped to the floor.

Kid struggled to push Mary off of him, also trying to protect his throat from being squeezed by the redhead's hands.

Nygus ran over and began to pry Mary off, yet…there's only so much you can do when a crazed, bloodthirsty, chaotic girl is trying to pull of the flesh on someone's skin with _so much focus. _Nygus needed reinforcements.

Soon enough, Sid and Stein arrived to the Dojo. Students pulled out their cell phones to videotape the rare scene; Kim started to bet on ridiculous outcomes ("Stein and Sid'll get their _ears torn off! _Bet twenty more dollars that _LORD DEATH _will show up! Mary will be knocked senseless!")

And so it was. Dr. Stein had no choice but to hit Mary in the back of the head, rendering the girl to unconsciousness.

* * *

When Mary woke up in the Dispensary, she thought back upon the first time she was there; with Adriana holding her hand, Crona sleeping on a swivel chair, and the sun's rays bothering her eyes. Now when she opened her eyes and searched the room, there was no one there but Nygus.

"Where…" She blinked a few times to get them used to the light penetrating the window. "Where am I?"

Nygus turned to stare directly at her; her pale blue eyes boring into her green ones. "You were consumed by madness at the beginning of the battle. Later on, when I declared a break, you kept attacking Hero—when Death the Kid separated you two, you attacked him, you wouldn't keep your hands off and so two teachers and _I _had to pull you apart." That was Nygus, explaining bizarre stories in the most monotonous manner since she began to work in the DWMA!

Mary blinked. The whole story hadn't been processed on her tiny brain yet. When it did, she could only ask, "Really?"

"Yes—really. Now, tell me Mary, why did you let the madness influence you?" Nygus had better questions to ask, such as, 'Why do you even _have _madness to begin with?'

Mary looked down at her dirty hands: they were a little bruised with purple and black scratches. She answered in a low voice, "I was scared."

"Of what?" Nygus asked, undisturbed that that would be one of the reasons.

Mary took in a deep breath. Confessing had always been a problem. "You see…my memory isn't all that great….And when I was training with Kid, I had forgotten about some technique's he'd taught me. So, being that the rematch was only one day away, he crammed as much technique's as he could into my head….When the fight began I tried to take it easy, so I wouldn't forget anything." She looked up and smiled sheepishly. "I guess that didn't work did it?"

Nygus nodded. She had been wondering why the girl was battling so strange. She looked down at her chart. There was nothing wrong with her internal organs, and she only had a few measly scratches and bruises, so nothing was wrong. And yet…

Nygus turned around, went to a cabinet, took out a bag of pills, and put them on Mary's hands. "Take these pills. They will reduce the chance of you being affected by madness." Not true of course, the only thing that has been known to decrease levels in madness would be to have a specific soul wavelength, the Anti-Demon Wavelength, one she doubted Mary had.

Mary grimaced. Nygus noticed this and frowned. "What's wrong?"

Mary looked up. "I'm afraid of pills."

Nygus' eyes didn't widen, instead she frowned. "And why's that?"

Mary shrugged, looking down at the pills again. "I've never taken them. And when my parent's tried to force me to, I couldn't swallow them. I was afraid of choking on them if I swallowed…Sorry," she set the small bag on the counter; "I can't take these." She raised her head. "Isn't there anything else I could take?"

Nygus sighed; she needed to talk to Dr. Stein about the odd newcomer.

* * *

She couldn't leave to continue her fight with Hero, something she was unexpectedly determined to finish. Nygus told her that she would have to stay and let her body recover from the madness. Mary didn't complain…she ranted in her head though.

That entertained her for a while. And soon enough she got a visitor.

She smiled. _Hopefully it'll be Crona!_ She thought to herself, excited that maybe her crush would arrive to make her feel all the better with his soft, angelic-like voice, and his warm, comforting presence. But no.

"Hey there crazy pants!" Hero greeted, waving.

Mary's face instantly fell at the sight of her worse nightmare. "Ugh, it's _you."_

Hero frowned. He goes to visit her because he was worried about her health, he greets her in a playful manner and what does he get?—the same bullcrap he's had to put up with from _lots _of people, and he's had about enough of it! "Listen Mary, I don't know what the hell has become of you, but what I _do _know is that you're becoming a real bitch."

Mary's eyes widened with disbelief. She never expected _Hero _of all people to insult her, I mean…didn't he love her?!

Mary looked down at her hands; suddenly a huge amount of grief overcame her.

Hero noticed her trembling lips and sighed. He began to do what he did best, "Look I'm sorry, but—"

"No…don't be…" Mary whispered. "_I'm _sorry. I'm sorry for being nothing but mean to you…you don't deserve it, I mean…you're a nice guy…"

Hero didn't believe what she was saying! She was actually _apologizing!_

No one had ever apologized to Hero before. Everyone in the DWMA treated him like a slave; because he was the worst meister, people decided to pick on him and force him to do their bidding, such as bringing them food, or being their personal test-subject. And they never apologized for the pain they put him through, they never apologized for always putting him down with their constant insults, they never apologized for _anything. _Even when Hero ruled the school with Excalibur as his partner…they never payed respect, they thought, 'Hey, sooner or later he's gonna crack…After all he is the worst!'

Hero had showed them…but only for a limited time…All he ever wanted, was an apology…

The only reasoned Mary apologized was because when Hero called her a bitch, she suddenly remembered the times when _she _was bullied.

"_Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary!" The kids in the playground chanted over and over, as the strange red-haired, crescent moon-carrier, cried her eyes out. _

Many of the kids had called her rude names, insulted her family, the death of her sister, and straight out beat her to a lifeless pulp.

Before her sister died, she was still emotionally tortured by her fellow classmates and kids from her neighborhood, they didn't find her weird eye attractive or cool, they found it straight-up _weird _and demonic. But Mary coped. She still had her sister Sally to talk to about everything; Sally was lucky, she was not bullied in her school, and Mary envied her for that. But when Sally left…Mary was alone once more, she not only had to put up with _twice _as more of bullying, but also with the death of her sibling and friend.

She had to fight on her own, until her savior arrived...

She was greatly surprised when no one commented on her crescent moon when she arrived to the DWMA. But it was expected; the DWMA had a reputation for welcoming any type of people, no matter what the size, shape, color, supernatural power, ethnicity, etc.

But who knew that one insult would force her to remember the painful memories of being bullied; it brought back all the torture she had been put through from the start, for being strange, for being…different.

Mary had leaked tears when she apologized to Hero; over the years of recovery she had forced herself to carry a "tough girl" façade, thinking it would make her less breakable, less vulnerable to insults. A part of her subconscious was angry at the world; angry at everyone. A part of her, deep inside, was gnawing at their pit wanting to rip the world into shreds, that part was mad at everyone, her parents for lying, her sister for leaving, the bullies for putting her through torture, and she was enraged with _herself. _Mary could go for days insulting herself in every aspect…this was one of her aspects that she hated.

She deserved to be crying; a part of her tormented, telling her that she deserved everything that was being said and thrown at her way. That voice was making her believe every word they spoke. _You are a bitter, angry _child! _Why don't you go and die? No one wants you. Hell, _Hero _doesn't even want you! He loved you idiot, but no, you let your _bitterness _get the best of you! You constantly insult him for _no good reason! _What the hell, Mary? Why don't you let someone express their feelings, why don't you give him a chance, why don't you _go and die?!

…It's amazing what one word could do to a person.

_You _swore _that you'd never be one of those bullies, that you'd never _torment_ another human being and put them through what you were put through…and yet you did…to a guy who complimented you, a guy who was kind to you…And why did you start to hate him?—Because he seemed _annoying.

That voice in the back of her head scoffed. She had broken her promise and violently bashed another human being for _no reason._

Mary was now sobbing, desperately and uncomfortably sucking in air, with tears cascading down her cheeks. Hero panicked, he didn't know what to do, he didn't know what was going through her mind. He cussed himself. Why did he just _blab _out that insult?! It wasn't of his nature…but no one could blame him, he'd reach his breaking point, just like Mary had…in that particular day...

Just as Hero was searching the room for something that would serve some sort of help, the voice torturing Mary stopped. It had made its point. She felt dirty, impure, and wrong. She wanted to go home, get under the covers, and insult herself. But she knew that that wasn't going to get her anywhere. The voice of reason told her that it was better if she apologized. Mary nodded, she decided to take action. She desperately hoped that this would _begin _to correct her mistake.

She swung her legs off the bed, got up, and did something completely unexpected.

She hugged him.

The boy she had hated on for a good two weeks. And she hugged him. With her voice trembling, and in her must vulnerable voice, she spoke. "Hero…I'm so sorry…I-I didn't mean to insult you or hit you or _any _of those things…" She sobbed. "I'm _really _sorry…From experience I know that no human being deserves this…Please," she hugged him tighter to emphasize on her words, "please forgive me."

Hero's eyes widened to the size of plates. He was frozen. A girl he'd been crushing on since he laid eyes on her had just apologized to him, the one thing he had always wanted in his life. He smiled. He was grateful…_beyond _grateful.

He hugged her back. "It's okay Mary, my dear…I forgive you."

* * *

The rematch was cancelled. The fight between New Girl Who Sucks vs. DWMA's Worst Meister was officially never going to make a reappearance.

Mary and Hero smiled as the crowd of groans and moans left the Dojo in annoyance, they mumbled incoherent words amongst themselves, repeatedly saying how this sucked a lot of—stuff and whatnot.

Maka's group of friendly friend's ran over to Mary to ask her why she personally called off the battle along with Hero.

Mary only responded, "We made up. There's no need to fight anymore."

The group was clearly not pleased—Black Star and Patty being the ones who actually _spent their money betting on her_ threw a temper tantrum, screaming that they wanted their money back. Liz and Tsubaki ran over to them to calm them down.

Maka asked if the training was still on, in which Mary replied that it was; Soul watched Tsubaki try to (unsuccessfully) calm Black Star down; Ragnarok had sprouted from Crona's back and land complain after complain as to why they stopped, throwing insults here and there; but Crona didn't do anything to stop his crazy partner…all he could do was stare at Mary and then at Hero…they had made up, even after the story Maka told him of what happened during their first battle.

Crona looked down at the floor. But he snapped his head back up when Mary called him. "Crona, is something wrong?"

Crona smiled a fake smile and attempted to hide his gloom. "N-No, nothing's wrong…" His grip on his shoulder tightened.

Mary frowned as she saw her crush look down at the floor once more. There was something obviously bothering him. And Mary was determined to find out what that was.

Kid coughed, his assertive cough seemed to get the attention from everyone.

_Wow…power, _Mary commented in amazement to Kid's skill…she wondered if she could do that too.

"Mary because you didn't win your battle against Hero, I'm afraid the deal is off."

"Wh-What deal?"

"There's no pizza."

"WHAT?!" Mary's black blood boiled in her veins. All the physical and mental training she was put through…all that was on her mind was her promised pizza…and just because she didn't win...

Kid had just lied to her about her beloved pizza. "No, it wasn't pizza…it was marshmallows, right…?"

Everyone sweat-dropped. Kid, although he wanted to, did not. "It was pizza, and you're not getting them." Kid proceeded to grab Mary by the back of her red shirt (that she had switched on in the Dispensary, after all there was no need of her Karate costume) and dragged her away. "Now that we have time, I'm going to train you _so hard!"_

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

**Author's Note: **And that concludes the end of "When the Heroine…"! The reason I started naming these chapters "When the Heroine…" is because these chapters were never _planned. _They came to me in the last minute. :p

I have to say that I'm glad Hero finally got some respect. I felt so bad for him in episode 32, and I thought I'd make something out of it. Hero's defiantly one of my all-time favorite characters from Soul Eater. He only appears for _one episode! _Sure, he makes a three second cameo in another one, but that's not a lot.

Hero: Finally some respect!

What the—? What are you doing here?

Hero: I…don't…know...—Say! Am I going to be in other chapters?! Will Mary and I get together, get married, have children—?

Stop your ranting! …And to answer your question…no. You will not be appearing…_for a while._

Hero: WHAT?! NOOOOOOOOO!

Sorry, but at least your relationship is a little better. Speaking of relationship, I hope you all enjoyed Mary's little flashback and struggle…I know I could do better…if I had more years of knowledge.

Good luck to anyone who will be starting school tomorrow!

I know _I _need it... _:/_


	23. Relationships

**Relationships and a Date**

**Author's Note: **I have to admit, the first week of school isn't that bad.

Hero: …On other news! I'm a permanent host now!

Yes, it's time for Hero to have a spotlight!

Hero: Yeeeeaa! Bitches!

Don't curse.

Hero: Sorry…

All this chapter talks about is what's happened in the next two months of Mary's life and her relationships. This is the easiest way for a lazy writer to explain relationships in less than one paragraph!

Hero: You do know that that's horrible, right?

You do know that there are more important plot points in this story other than mindless talking and getting to know one another like most ordinary people do on a daily bases, right?

Hero: …Touché...And the chapter begins! I better be in it.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Soul Eater, only OC's.

* * *

I have to admit life in Death City is pretty dull if you've lived in it for a while—and by a while, I mean two months!

My relationship with my fellow DWMA classmates has expanded now that I have little to no worries in my life. My strongest friendship with a person has to be Arachne. Even though at times it can get really awkward really fast, once I got to know her I figured out that she's pretty epic! Unlike Adriana, she _listens _to my many complaints, gives great advice, I'm comfortable around her, accepts me for who _I _am, is always there to help me out whether if it's on any troubles with my social life, Crona, or homework! And there's much more! I believe this started when Adriana and Eruka were out shopping. We were watching a movie and then the lights went out. That's when I had no choice but to make conversation. She was pretty funny and agreed with me on things, but of course I thought nothing of it. But times and times again I would be forced under some circumstance to talk to her, and BOOM! I found it less complicated to talk to her, and soon, I was being myself around her. I talked about anything I wanted without being judged or be given a funny face to. Sometimes I thought she was pretending to listen, but she kept her side of the conversation. And she _lives _with me, so spending time with her isn't so hard.

Eruka has gotten bored at home, doing nothing but watching TV along with Arachne while Adriana and I go to school. I told her that she could go out to Death City and enjoy herself now that Lord Death classified both of them as harmless. But she's still refuses to go out on her own unless she has someone with her. Go with Arachne, I had said, but she always brings up the same excuse, and I don't know whether or not to believe her when she says, "She goes to the library every now and then and it's _boring _over there!" So, that's why Eruka's been going to school with me, as a frog. I have to hide her most of the time because I don't know whether DWMA allows animals, or maybe they do but my classmates would recognize Eruka as a witch, or maybe Dr. Stein sees her and dissects her. Either way, I stopped taking Eruka to school, because just as at home she was bored. Sure, she learned a few things here and there, but really, most of the time she was asleep in my lap/back pack! Besides small talk and some sort of mutual understanding, Eruka and I don't really have a strong relationship. We're simply roommates!

I don't know about Adriana…she's been slipping farther and farther away from me…like soap! As I was spending more time with Kid, training, I had brought her along so she can squeeze in some conversation with him during breaks. But Kid wouldn't have any of it. He was focused on training my butt off and he didn't let anyone interrupt ("DAMNIT!"). Instead of attempting to talk to Kid, Adriana found herself talking and hanging out with Liz and Patty most of the time (Considering they're the only other one's that live there, yeah). Adriana was pretty mad at me for telling Liz that she had a crush on Kid—but, really?! I mean, it was _pretty hard _to believe that no one but _Maka and Soul _could see that Adriana was obsessed with Kid. SERIOUSLY! Anyway, Adriana's told me that Liz has been leaking information to her about Kid and his many secrets, ways to impress him, turn-offs, and all that other juicy stuff you want to hear from the friend of the guy you're crushing on. That's why Adriana's been so distant, because she's always with Liz and Patty. At first I didn't mind, I mean, it was a great opportunity for her to make friends and to spend time with Kid when he was available, but then…I started to miss her. I grew up with Adriana for over roughly seven years. Seeing her face less and less is heartbreaking. Even when she's home, she's still either on the phone, doing her homework last-minute, or watching TV. During dinner where everyone is supposed to eat together, she would make an excuse to leave, or barely talk at all. It's only on missions when I can talk to her like the old times, but even then we gradually slip under the "awkward" category.

I never imagined I would have a friend like Death the Kid. The child is indeed interesting. Most of the time I spend with him is at his house, training. When I _wasn't _being trained under ridiculous amounts of pressure, we would try to start a conversation about something basic—like school—but it always fell back to the training. It would start with, "What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?" to "You could've done better with that kick!" Though, to be fair, when we _are _with our friends, it is easier to keep up with a normal flow in our conversations. But when we're alone? Yikes! With Kid it's mostly boring and frustrating when he goes back to the training, but it _is _fun to tease him about his hair!

Liz reminds me of Rebecca. Can be a giant judge of character, but is still nice; can be overly dramatic or scared, but still puts up a brave front; can be withdrawn near strangers, but pretty bold. Because of that, Liz is sort of like my "aunt figure", I would say "mother", but that's more like Arachne. Liz and I have a pretty basic relationship. At times we might talk and hang out over at her house, lunch, or PE. But because we don't have that much in common we can't express the relationship outside of school or her house. For example, she loves the mall, and unless there're videogames involved I'm just not that interested. I've always been the daughter to complain to her mother (or aunt) that she wanted to leave already, that the perfumes were giving her a headache, or that she needed to use the restroom for number 2 and she simply refused to use the store's restroom.

Patty is…_difficult _to talk to. Whenever we're alone and I'm forced to talk to her, half of the time she doesn't pay attention. Not only do I find that rude, but most of the time I'm simply _annoyed. _If she's not humming or singing, she's whistling, if she isn't in her own little world, she's interrupting me and talking about giraffe's or puppies or cupcakes or anything else. I don't know if she's doing that on purpose, or to annoy me, or it's just because she doesn't like me, but I'd wish she'd be more forward. I've asked Liz about it; all I got was that it's her normal behavior. I asked Maka, she told me that when _she _talks to Patty it's about the same thing as well. Oh well, I guess some people are just impossible.

Speaking of impossible: BLACK STAR! OH MY JOSH! Talk about _annoyiiiiiing! _Every time I'm talking to him all I hear is, "Blah, blah, blah, BLACK STAR, blah, blah, blah, blah, AWESOME, blah, blah, blah, GOD, blah, blah, blah, YAHOO, blah, blah, blah, DID YOU SEE THAT TSUBAKI?!, blah, blah…BLAH!" His ego is the size of RUSSIA! I cannot put up a conversation with him without hearing the same words! Sure, at times he could be serious and laid-back but that's a rough chance nowadays! Back when the Kishin was driving people crazy, Black Star's attitude had changed, was it the madness?—was it hormones?—was it weird? All I know is that he's defiantly not one of my most favorite to talk to. Time and time again he would cheer me up somehow, but only to squash my self-esteem in a heartbeat.

Tsubaki is the nicest person I have ever met! It can be a stretch because I've never come across legitimate nice person, but if I did, I'd still say that Tsubaki is the best. She's just so_ nice! _She apologizes constantly for Black Star's behavior, her patience is almost unlimited (putting up with someone like Black Star is a fine example of that), she always gives great advice, and is there to cheer you up right away! She's like a frggin' angel! Though I've seen her reach her limits with Black Star at times (It's really funny!), but that's necessary sometimes. To me, she's the nicest person in the world; I could always count on Tsubaki. She and I don't regularly hang out, only when we're all together to I sometimes talk to her, and trust me, she's easy to talk to, and her personality is comforting and inviting. She's epic!

Maka is the best, basically. I mean, c'mon what's not to like? She's cute, powerful, _beat the Kishin with a punch, _is skilled as hell, and…is smart…because she reads…books! ...Yeah...Maka is that person I would say yes to for everything. Why?—because I owe her a lot! When I have trouble with her friendly group of friendly friends, she's there to help me out getting a conversation started, or giving me tips about what to avoid and say with a specific individual. She's like a personal Messiah! She's nice, but unlike Tsubaki, Maka can be angered really fast—especially if it involves Soul and Blair. But…things have gotten…_weird. _At first we could talk about anything: school, music (it didn't last long though), books, the future. And now…every conversation I have with her, no matter _how _I start it…it always ends up falling into the topic of the _same person! _And that's Crona. I don't know why she talks to me about Crona; I could see it happening one or two times, maybe three, but in almost _all _our conversations?! No! I _like _talking about Crona, especially with Maka since she was the first person I told, but not all the time. Some things should be kept personal, but Maka usually digs information out of me. At first she was subtle, but now she's not afraid! I've tried asking Soul (awkwardly) about it, but he just _shrugs it off _as if it was the most typical thing on the planet.

Maka usually talks about Crona in a high-standard. I've never heard _one _negative thing come out of her mouth about him, except when she was describing his flaws. I feel like I know more about Crona, then I do about Maka! I guess it's nice(?) when she crams the information down my throat, but sometimes I wish it can get back to the old weeks, where it was just a random conversation! I've asked her _why _she talks so much about him but she quickly evades the question and goes back to the same topic! I don't understand! I know it's not nice, but at this point I've tried to avoid her half of the time, just so I can be spared from another, "Did you know that Crona…?" or, "Crona may look fragile but really…" or, "He has muscles!" I don't care!—…about the muscles. I didn't mind at first, it was actually nice knowing things about him, but now I feel like I'm a creep for knowing so much with barely any knowledge from him! At one point I started to wonder if Crona knew Maka was blabbing so much about him, I asked him…he said YES, that he KNEW! Arachne told me that Maka can be acting as a wingman (or in her case, a "wingwoman"). A wingman is a friend who compliments their "man" when they're talking to their love interest. But when I explained how Maka was acting _now, _Arachne shrugged (shrugging is becoming to annoy me) and told me that maybe it was because Maka had never been a wingman before, or she's become too comfortable, or she's _really _desperate to make me like Crona.

And last, and defiantly the best, Crona! Like I said, Maka is the one usually cramming down information about Crona on me; whenever I personally talked to Crona I never got any facts about his life. All I could gather was from his body language and the way he spoke…that's it! Everything else I know about him has been purely because of Maka. I wonder if knowing so much about him from another person is a good thing or bad. It can be good because I have an advantage, there's no awkwardness, I know more so I can synch with him or sympathize. But…then again…it _would _be best if I learned things from Crona himself and not his best friend. The reason is very simple. I would've personally loved that, it means that he wants to open up to me and that he actually wants me to know more about him, but when a friend does it _for _him…I don't know…for me it just doesn't _feel _right. So whenever I talk to Crona, I have to start the conversation first (there's a slim chance he'll start the conversation), and though it's not hard talking to him, it's hard picking a subject in which to talk _about. _Sure Maka's told me some of the things he likes, but it's still difficult to continue out a conversation with a shy child. His responses are simple; he's very timid so I can't act like myself without scaring him…it's so frustrating!

* * *

Life in Death City has had about the same boring schedule: Get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, wake up everyone, and wait for Adriana to leave and go to school. When there's no school, Maka or someone else usually makes a plan for all of us to go out to: the movies, playing basketball, going to the mall, a water park, etc. But I was really surprised when no one had plans for the weekend. And I was even _more _surprised when I got a load o' this:

"_M-Mary…" I turned around to see Crona, gripping his shoulder and blushing more than usual when he's around me._

_I put on my best smile, a way for him to know that I'm not going to bite his head off. "What is it Crona?"_

_He breathed in heavily a few times, his bangs covered his eyes so I couldn't see what he was feeling, but telling by his grips' intensity on his shoulder and how he was slightly shaking, it had to be something big. "Is there something you want to say?" I encouraged._

_He turned around, grabbed his back pack, set it on the ground, opened it, took out a note, and handed over to me. I had to blink to just realize what had just happened. _

_I took the note from his shaky and sweaty hands. "Do I open it now?"_

_He shook his head, his eyes still being covered by his pink hair. "R-R-R-Read it a-a-at h-home…please…a-and t-t-tell m-me y-y-your a-a-answer…!" He stuttered so much that he reminded me of the times I woke up with a bad shiver. Crona quickly grabbed his back pack and ran away._

_When I went home, I opened the note, and it said:_

"_Dear Mary,_

_Would you like to go to the movies with me this Saturday?_

_Please text me your answer,_

_Thank you,_

_Crona"_

* * *

**Author's Note: **I think Mary's reply is going to be pretty obvious ;)

Hero: Why do you do this to me?! Why?!

Sorry Hero…you do know that Mary's not going to end up with you, right?

Hero: You're mean! …And why didn't you put me in there?!

She didn't communicate with you, only one conversation a month.

Hero: Fuck my life.

I SAID NO CURSING!

Hero: So what, the next chapter is going to be about their date?

Yes!—My fellow readers, the "Crona Saga" is finally here! Crona is going to be one of the main characters in the following chapters! S'about time actually.

Hero: I liked it better when _I _was the main male!

Sorry Hero…those days are long gone.

Hero: 'xcuse me…I'm going to go to the bathroom and cry.

Don't be sad!—Ah, he'll get over it!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I felt it was necessary to establish Mary's relationships.

Tune in for the next chapter!


	24. The Odd Date Part 1

**Author's Note: **I wanted to try something different with Mary and Crona's date. It's still going to be an original date, but it will have a parody(?) mixed in. If you know who Dane Cook is then you should know where this is going, if you _don't _know who Dane Cook is, or you _do _know him but you just don't know what I'm talking about, then you have to go to YouTube and type in: Dane Cook Date at the Movies. This chapter is going to be a slight parody of that.

Hero: Aha, I love Dane Cook!

...Umm…good for you...Anyways, if you don't listen to him do that specific story or you just refuse, then it's up to you whether you want to read this chapter or not.

Hero: Why don't you do an original though?

It is, but because I'm a fan of Dane Cook, and I think it'll be funny to mix these two things in it. I mean, they're on a date, at the movies, and Dance Cook told a funny story about a date at the movies. It makes sense!

Hero: "Dance" Cook?

Oops! My bad! XD I meant Dane.

This'll be written in third person point of view.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Soul Eater, or Dane Cook's Date at the Movies, I only own my OC's.

**Warning: **There will be curse words…and sexual jokes.

* * *

**Date at the Movies**

Mary and Crona walked to an empty lane where they could get a good view of the big screen. The two teens sat down and Crona couldn't help but squirm in the seat. Sure, he'd been here before, but he just couldn't get used to how comfortable the seats in the movie theatre were.

Crona looked over at Mary to see how the young redhead was dealing with the situation. He sweat-dropped when Mary was rising up the cup holder while exclaiming, "Wow this goes up!"

Crona couldn't help but smile at her fascination. "Haven't you been to a movie theatre before?"

Mary stopped and smiled sheepishly, seemingly embarrassed that she was caught. "No. My parents were more comfortable renting movies and watching them at home."

Crona nodded, understanding how she felt. He was also fascinated of how things worked in a movie theatre when he first came.

Mary continued rising the cup holder. Ragnarok rose and placed his head on top of Crona's. He looked around the movie theatre, and lowered his eyes at the girl. "You know what that's for Ginger?"

Mary was startled when she heard Ragnarok's voice. _When did _he _show up? _she asked herself. "What's it for?"

"It's a cup holder or you could blow Crona if the movie's bad," Ragnarok then chuckled at his own joke.

Mary blushed and placed the cup holder down and stared at her knees; Crona paled, only to blush in a few seconds. The mere thought send his nerves on fire. "Ragnarok!" Crona meant to sound serious and bold, but instead a small squeak escaped.

He looked over at Mary; he couldn't help but wonder what could be possibly going through her head. Crona cussed himself out for not thinking about Ragnarok and how he might behave during the date. _The date's just started and Ragnarok's already caused trouble…_ Crona thought.

Crona was about to ask Mary a question when both of their heads perked up when they heard a man in the row behind them commenting on the sticky floor. "Ah, this floor's so sticky, so sticky!" The man was raising both of his legs; the sound he was making made Crona uncomfortable. _Clcck, clcck…_

To Crona's surprise Mary turned to face the man and said something unimaginable, "I just came."

"What?" the older man frowned and deadpanned. His wife couldn't help but snigger at Mary's comment.

Ragnarok's eyes almost bulged out, but he soon spoke, "Wow Ginger! I didn't know you had it in ya to say something like that!"

Mary turned back and smiled proudly, "Yeah, well, I've always wanted to do that!" Mary's eyes flickered over to Crona, and he slightly jumped in his seat. What should he say? What should he do?

It was obvious that Mary was waiting for a response from the pink-haired meister, but Crona didn't know what to say. He found the joke _somewhat _funny, but he was too shocked from the fact that Mary would actually _say _something like that.

Mary sighed from the lack of response and turned back to the movie screen. She chastised herself, _You stupid idiot! You shouldn't have said that! Now Crona probably thinks you're a giant perv or something!_

"M-Mary…" Mary turned her head as Crona called out.

"What is it?"

Crona's eyes widened and his blush deepened. His mind was fogged as he desperately tried to remember what he wanted to say. "N-Nothing!" Crona set his attention on the seat in front of him.

"Alright…"

Ragnarok looked at the both of the meisters and said, "God you're both boring!" He looked down at Crona. "Hey pansy, let me know when the movie starts!" With that, Ragnarok returned to Crona's bloodstream(?).

Then two couples walked down the lane, they had two sets of popcorn, two drinks, and a few candy bars. Mary's nose picked up the smell and it went straight into her nostril. She couldn't help but turn to Crona.

"Hey," Crona looked at her. "I'm thinking I want some treats."

Crona was a little put-off. He had asked Mary before they entered the theatre if she wanted something. He frowned. Had she not responded because she didn't want him to pay? Before going on the date, Maka gave Crona advice: she told him that no matter what, he had to get Mary something, even if she wasn't hungry; he had to get some food. Because Maka knew that some people had a tendency to do that. They don't want anything and then soon enough, they want something in the middle of the movie and then someone has to get up, miss out, and get something. But of course, Crona gave up on trying to get Mary something when the girl had shaken her head, smiled and said that 'it was fine', over and over again.

Luckily, Crona wasn't paying the price in its full-form. The movie hadn't started yet and there was still time. "A-Alright…wh-what would you like?"

Mary stared at her knees and thought about what she would like. She quickly fell into panic as she realized that she hadn't been paying attention at the type of thing's they were selling. So she had no idea what to get. She turned to Crona and, with a lump in her throat, asked, "What do they have?"

That's when Ragnarok arrived. "They got a fucking main lobster—what do you think they have out there?! They've got the same bullshit they've had since '55! Popcorn and sodi-pop, let's gooo!"

Crona frowned and scolded Ragnarok, "Ragnarok, this is the first time she's been to a movie theatre. She doesn't know what they have." Crona turned to Mary and apologized, "I'm sorry for his behavior, I-I'll tell you what they have—"

Crona stopped breathing when Mary hugged him. She had thrown herself across the pestering cup holder and hugged him! Crona's breath was caught in his throat. Flames spread across his cheeks as he felt her on him. She whispered, "Thanks Crona, you're such a great guy!" She held his shoulders and looked into his eyes. "Not to mention _cute!"_

She drew back and sat herself back down. She coughed, having just realized that she had done something risky. She had invaded Crona's personal space. It would've been okay to do that if it were someone else! Not _Crona, _the shy, meister who was uncomfortable around strangers. Sure, Mary was not much of a stranger, but she wasn't exactly a friend either.

"Crona, I'm sorry! I'm just happy that you're going to help me out! I didn't mean to invade your personal bubble!" Mary stopped rambling and stared at Crona—she didn't know what he was feeling. His eyes were wide, a slight blush was on his cheeks, and his mouth was slightly opened.

Mary looked down at her lap and took both of her hands to her face. _Josh, this is embarrassing!_

Crona on the other hand was dealing with a completely different dilemma. At this point he would've patted Mary on the back awkwardly and told her that it was fine—but…there was something else that took hold on him.

A wavelength…

A _familiar _wavelength…

A huge wave of raw emotions tumbled Crona over. He held on to the cup holder in a vain attempt to throw off those emotions but they stayed…and overwhelmed him.

Mary looked up when she heard a grunt from Crona. He had tears leaking from his eyes. Mary's eyebrows automatically shot up in worry and she laid her hand on his. "Crona are you okay?!"

At this point several people were watching them; Ragnarok was already something to stare at in wonder, but now Crona was shaking, his eyes and mouth clenched shut in pain, and Mary screaming if he was fine.

Mary erased everyone from the scene. It was only her and Crona…no one else.

Crona had locked-away memories thrown back at him…one-by-one…reminding him that she was gone…

* * *

"_My name is…what's yours?"_

"_Crona…"_

"_Weird name."_

"_What's yours?"_

"…_!"_

"_Th-That's pretty…"_

"_Really? Thanks! I don't get that a lot! Too common, they say."_

"_Don't worry, I'll stay here with you, I promise!"_

"_Don't you have a family?"_

"_Nah, my parents are fighting for something I don't even know about—Plus, I'm all alone, I have no friends, so what's the point—am I right?"_

"_You're so nice Crona! I've never met someone my age that's so nice!"_

"_Th-Thanks!"_

"_And that's why we're gonna be great friends!"_

"_I'm glad you're staying!"_

"_Me too! We'll be the bestest friends!"_

"_Why is your eye bandaged?"_

"_Huh? Oh this thing! I, uh, burned it when I was small."_

"_I'm sorry I didn't want to!"_

"_I can't believe you would do such a thing Crona! You lied to my face! And I thought we were friends!"_

"_WE ARE! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE! I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE!"_

"_Are you kidding me?! I'm not staying here any longer! Plus, you see that? My dad is here to save me! Ugh, I can't believe you!"_

"_DON'T LEAVE! I'M SORRY!"_

_Please…_

_Don't leave me…_

"_When you were here before_

_Couldn't look you in the eye_

_You're just like an angel_

_Your skin makes me cry_

_You float like a feather_

_In a beautiful world_

_And I wish I was special_

_You're so very special_

_But I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo._

_What the hell am I doing here?_

_I don't belong here…"_

* * *

"Crona…!"

His eyes shot wide open. He scanned the room. He was shocked to see that he was back in the movie theatre, with people staring at him, and Mary's face twisted with fear and concern.

"Crona! You're okay!" Once again, Mary threw herself and embraced him. "I'm so glad you're safe!"

Crona was drenched in sweat, he was still shaking a little, but with the type of shivers you get from a cold morning. His heart was still beating wildly in his chest, it was slowing down but it was still audible. Crona felt Mary's hold tighten. His eyes widened as he felt the same wavelength again, but rather than send him to another attack, the same familiar wavelength was relaxing him. It almost made him melt as relief and serenity washed over him; he closed his eyes in content. The results were similar to a massage. The wavelength negatively affected him, forced his muscles to tense, almost cramp, his heart to accelerate, his body to heat up, and his mind to unlock the painful memories that he tried every day not to release or think about. Now this wavelength was relaxing him…allowing his muscles to relax, his heart beat to die down...

He found his voice and said, "Mary…I'm fine..." He didn't want her to worry, but he also didn't want her to crush him to death*.

Mary reluctantly let go and started throwing questions at him, questions that Crona had to lie about.

When she ran out of questions, she sighed heavily and looked down at the seat. Crona asked, "How long was I out?"

"Minute," she mumbled.

Crona's eyebrows rose up in worry. "Mary, I'm sorry I made you worry, but I'm fine, really!" Crona got up from his seat and smiled down at her. "Wh-Why don't I go get you s-something to eat, alright?"

Mary nodded, still looking glum. Something suddenly clicked in Crona's head. "Oh right!" He sat back down. "Let me tell you what they have!"

When Crona finished telling her more-or-less what the movie theatre sold, he asked her what she wanted, only to receive a shrug. "Mary, _please, _I'm fine. Please lighten up…p-please for me…?" He didn't know where that last part came from. It shocked both of them.

Mary didn't know what to say.

Crona shifted and tensely sat straight. He coughed, clearing his throat. "So…what would you like?"

Mary blinked and stared at Crona. "Oh right! Well let's see: I'll have the gummy fish. And…you said they have those chocolate coins in the aluminum right…? And an Icee! An Icee in a bamboo cup, 'cause it's not as cold in my hands…Oh! And you know the cheese that comes with the nachos?—Just the cheese."

Crona blinked. Her emotion had changed so quickly that it made him almost believe that she wasn't so glum before. "No nachos…just cheese?"

"Yeah, I like cheese!"

Crona swallowed. Good thing Mary had a tendency to change her emotions rather quickly, or things would've still been awkward. Crona slightly jumped when she started him with another question, "Is that too much?"

Ragnarok, who had gone back to Crona's back when the flashbacks occurred, returned. "Oh no, no, my hopes were that after we left the theatre you would be _obese! _Are you sure you don't want anything else, you big fat fatty? I wish I had a grandmother, and then I wish she would _die, _so I can get the inheritance money to pay for all this!" Ragnarok took Crona's head and shook it. "C'mon Crona, let's go! I don't want to miss the Previews!"

Crona stood up and quickly apologized, "I'm so sorry Mary!"

Mary smiled. Truth be told, Ragnarok's comment only slightly stung—it was nothing compared to the hell she had to go through before. "It's fine. I've been called worse."

Crona frowned; he barely had time to ponder on the subject as Ragnarok hauled him away.

Crona was muttering apologies to the people he was passing through, he was also slightly nervous at what Ragnarok had said last time they were at the movies.

"_C'mon dumbass, you have to be quick!"_

"_Why Ragnarok?!" Crona was slightly pissed at the fact that Ragnarok was making him go through the aisles as fast as possible. What if he tripped? He couldn't deal with that…_

"_Because someone might pull out a giant dildo and shove it up your ass!"_

That's why Crona was going through everyone as quickly as possible. When he got through, he shyly waved at Mary, who returned the wave. But in his head he was cheering proudly, _Not today, Captain Dildo!_

Crona exited the movie theatre and went up to the guy behind the counter. "Hi, can I have the gummy fish, and the aluminum coins, and—an Icee! And you know the cheese that comes with the nachos?—yeah just the cheese."

The man behind the counter's eyes slightly widened at the wild order. "Just cheese?"

"Yeah, just the cheese, no nachos, just the cheese!"

After the man got everything on the counter and Crona paid, the man asked, "Do you need a box?"

Crona, tired and sweating, thought in his head, _Ah no, I would like to make 9 trips back and forth like I'm a Choo-Choo train! Of course I want a box!"_

Crona nodded. The man placed the "box" in the counter and unfolded it; he piled all the supplies in it and gave it to Crona, who carried it as if it were a baby.

He looked like he was carrying all his items in a diaper. A diaper of goodies!

When Crona returned to the movie theatre, he was immediately faced with another problem. The lights were out; the only thing that was illuminating the isle was a couple of small white lights on either side of it. Crona felt his stomach churn. He didn't remember where he and Mary had sat.

And the man who was in the first seat in the first row was staring up at Crona, making him all the more nervous. The man was looking at his partner and back at Crona, complaining, "This guy won't sit! Would you please sit? I have a cock eye and all I see is you and your flimsy box!" He looked back at his partner, "He will not sit!"

But lucky for him, Mary was prepared. Crona saw a waving hand and he made his way to where Mary was. He sat down next to her and thanked her. He took the Icee and went to hand it to her when Ragnarok started fighting. "Why didn't you call us sooner?! Some wacko was pissing me off! And now I missed the Previews!"

Mary frowned, clearly not pleased with his behavior and attitude. She had waited, facing back, straining her neck, avoiding odd glances for them to show up so Crona wouldn't have a hard time! And here was Ragnarok complaining about not calling them sooner! "I called you when you entered the theatre, Ragnarok! What are you talking about?!"

Crona tried to intervene but found it hopeless. They sounded like two small children fighting over something ridiculous. Crona felt his hand freeze up as he was still holding the Icee. "Mary, please take the Icee…" Crona pleaded.

"In a minute," Mary rushed with her response and continued fighting with Ragnarok.

And the same man Mary had dissed behind them made a sound, "Shhh!" And it's not just a 'shh' it's like the most professional—like he went to "Shush School". It's like the best 'shh', he said again, "SHUSH! SHULALALALUSH!"

Mary just snapped, turned to him, and said, "Yeah? Well fuck your mother!"

His wife started to laugh, Ragnarok snickered, and Crona paled looking back at the man to see if he would call the police. But it seemed like he didn't even hear Mary's comment. "M-Mary!"

"He just told me to 'shush'!" Mary complained, like a small child would complain to their parent.

"SHUSHOLA!" The man bellowed again.

Mary turned to him and hissed, "_Fuck your mother…!"_

Crona had to calm Mary and Ragnarok down. When he did, he gave her the diaper of goodies and, just in time, the Previews began.

The first Preview came on:

_EVERYONE!_

"_Where's the van!? The van was supposed to be here!"_

_YOU!_

_ME!_

_US!_

The Preview ended with a sudden gasp, and many from the theatre erupted in cheers and claps. Crona slightly jumped when Mary whispered to him, "That looks good…I wanna see that!" She took the drink from the cup holder and took drink from the two straws the man behind the counter had placed. She had some trouble placing the Icee back to its place; she had to look down from the screen in order to set it back.

The next trailer appeared:

_Fate…_

_Cameron Diaz_

"_Oh my God, I can't believe it's you after all these years!"_

Crona looked at Mary to see what she thought, and was slightly amused when she was frowning and eating one of her gummy fishes. "Stupid…" she muttered not even looking at him.

Crona lightly chuckled when Mary had finished taking a sip from her Icee and was having trouble putting it back to its place without looking. She snapped, "Can't they just put a fucking bulb in there, just a one-watt?! I spend 19 minutes twisting it around that hole!" She finally placed it. She looked at Crona and continued, "You ever think you got it in there and you drop it and it splashes all over?! And then you're all like, 'Ah, fuck!'"

And the man behind Mary leaned in and commented, "I just came."

* * *

**Author's Comment: **And scene!

Hero: What?! That's it?!

Yeah! :D

Hero: No! What about the whole "wavelength" thing!?

Relax this is a two-part date. I'll try my best to put the next part in tomorrow.

Hero: Augh! You better! I want to see if Mary slaps Crona!

What the—?

Hero: Hey! I can dream!

Dream along Hero, because that's never going to happen.

Hero: *raises his hand* Question!

Yes?

Hero: Why did you put a star here, "He didn't want her to worry, but he also didn't want her to crush him to death*."?

Oh, that's something I want my readers to remember! You see, Crona doesn't know that Mary has black blood, but Mary keeps forgetting to tell him about it.

Hero: -_- It's been two months…

*Sigh* I know.

Hero: I'm surprised she doesn't remember her own _name! _:o Is there a _reason?!_

For what?

Hero: Her memory being horrible?

I dunno… :) Maybe.

Hero: …

…

The song is called, "Creep" by Scala and the Kolacny Brothers! I don't own it!

See you guys next time! And I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :D


	25. The Odd Date Part 2

**Author's Note: **

Last chapter…

"Author's Comment: And scene!"

Author's Comment nothing! It was supposed to be Author's _Notes! _Gah, I'm so stupid!

Hero: Yes you are.

:|

Hero: I mean! N-No you're not!

Much better! :)

I would like to thank my fellow readers for reviewing the last chapter. I'm glad you thought it was funny, but remember: the credit goes to Dane Cook.

Hero: Heh-heh, "I just came."

…Okay. I would also like to thank a new reviewer: Revengest! Thank you for reviewing, and thank you for the compliments! I'm glad I kept your attention and interest for all the chapters. I hope you'll continue reading!

Hero: Am _I _in this chapter?

No!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Soul Eater, only OC's.

* * *

Crona had to _drag _Mary out of the movie theater when the movie ended. The redhead had picked a fight with the man behind them; she was peeved at him for a reason Crona didn't understand, and the man fought back with insults and threats to call the police. When Mary was about to punch him, Crona intercepted and pulled her away.

Crona was dragging away a complaining Mary and he tried to avoid the eyes of the people around them who were staring with curiosity.

"Mary, _please _stop wiggling!" Crona pleaded. His gaze met a bench that was a couple of feet away.

"Just let me go! I promise I won't kill him…just hurt him a little!"

"No Mary, I don't want you to end up in jail for hurting someone!"

"Thanks!" Crona couldn't help but peer down at her. She was looking up at him and smiling. Crona looked away—blushing—and simply nodded.

_Hopefully her mood has changed, _Crona thought. That was what was keeping this night from going downhill, the fact that Mary was somewhat bipolar. _I should probably ask her about that later._

He finally arrived at the bench and sat down, carelessly letting go of Mary in the process.

She fell to the floor. "Ow…" she muttered.

"I'm sorry Mary!" Crona started overreacting again. "I didn't mean—"

"Crona it's fine," Mary rose from the floor. She then sat down next to the shy meister, who couldn't help but inch away.

Mary didn't notice this; she was too busy staring at a line of people waiting to get their coffee.

Crona had his hands balled up against his knees, his back slouched down. He was blushing, looking over at Mary as he tried to piece what he wanted to say in his head. He didn't want to end up stuttering her name and then say 'Nothing' afterwards.

When he was done piecing his sentence in his head, he opened his mouth to deliver it but Mary beat him to the punch. "Did you enjoy the movie?"

Crona closed his mouth. Well, there's no point in asking unless she'd ran out of things to say. He was glad that Mary spoke first, she asked something simple, something they could easily start a conversation with, while _he _wanted to ask if she had a mood disorder.

Crona answered, "I liked it." He wanted to face palm. He could've done a better job at responding! Maka told him that if he responded simply to a question, the other person can't continue with their conversation…unless…

Crona looked at Mary apprehensively, waiting to see if she would say something. Mistake.

She was staring at him, her eyes were blank, and it was pretty overwhelming as to how she was piercing through his defenses—it was almost as if she wanted to…_rip his soul to shreds._

Crona spun his head away. _No! That _can't _be it! Crona, you're frightening yourself more than you already are! Just stop and enjoy your time with her!_

He heard a sigh. He turned his head again just in time to see Mary ask another question, "Am I making you uncomfortable, Crona?" She turned her head to face him.

Because he was slouching, Mary seemed taller than him, which only made the situation worse. Crona looked down at his knees. "N-No Mary…it's not that…"

"Then what is it…?" she whispered, bringing her gaze to the floor.

"I-I…um…" Crona took a deep breath. Might as well say the truth, he thought. "I just don't want to ruin our date."

"Don't worry," she was still whispering for some reason. "Our date won't be ruined."

Crona allowed himself to stare at her again. He couldn't determine what she was feeling. Her eyes were blankly staring at the floor, her lips in a straight line—the only type of emotion he could identify was due to her frowning eyebrows.

"Is something bothering you, Mary?"

"Hm?" Her eyes slightly widened with interest and he couldn't help but notice that her expression had softened.

_Mood swing or…? _Crona thought of the possibilities. Had she been thinking of something in her head? Was this just another change of emotion? This was too much to deal with!

He tore his eyes away from her face. Things were beginning to spiral out of Crona's control. He just couldn't keep up with the redhead. He had no idea what she was thinking about.

"W-What are you thinking about?"

"There's an ant on the floor."

_Eh? _Crona looked down at the floor where Mary was staring at. Sure enough, there was a small black ant walking across the white mall floor.

Crona quickly lost interest in the creature, but was surprised when Mary was still staring at him, her green eyes following its every move. He wondered if she was generally interested in the ant or if it was just a way to entertain herself because he had bored her…He hoped it was the former.

He decided to take a deep breath and answer her. "Do you like the ant?"

"Hm? Oh no, they annoy me, especially when I find them around my house."

"Then…why are you staring at it?"

She shrugged. "I dunno."

After a long moment of silence, Crona mustered up the confidence to ask her the question that had been plaguing his mind. "Mary…"

She 'hm-ed?' again. "Am I boring you?"

She lightly frowned, but did not take her eyes off of the ant. _Is she ignoring me? _"No. I'm not bored, and _you're _not boring me."

"Then why are you staring at the ant?" Crona thought it was over. There. The date was entertaining in the movies but now there was no hope in getting it back. She says she's not bored, but if anyone's staring at a boring ant on the floor, it means they're pretty bored.

She shrugged again. She was smiling now. Crona was confused beyond words.

Then Crona's savior arrived. "What the hell are you doing Ginger?!" Crona never thought he'd be so glad to hear Ragnarok's shrieking voice of protest. "You're finally on a date with Crona and you're staring at an ant!? I wouldn't be surprised if he was offended!"

Mary continued to stare at the ant with a smile. It was as if she never heard Ragnarok.

"What the hell are you doing? Is that ant your new love interest or something?"

"Nope."

"God, you're boring!"

"Thank you."

Ragnarok leaned in to Crona's ear and 'whispered', "I don't know what you see in her Crona! She's staring at an _ant!"_

Before Crona could protest he saw Mary foot rise.

Both Ragnarok and Crona stared at her foot as she brought it down upon the small ant. She turned to him and smiled. "Do you think I killed it, Crona?"

"Uh…um…Y-Yes…?" Crona squeaked. He didn't know what she was getting at this.

Her smile widened. "Nope." She raised her foot again, and Crona was surprised to see the ant still alive and walking.

Crona didn't know what to say. Should he say, 'Hurray!' or something?

Mary got up from the bench and stretched. "So, let's go continue our date! What do you say we go to a mall or something? Maybe I can finally buy myself a PlayStation 3, so I won't be so bored at home?"

Crona blinked. _What? What was _that _all about?! She stared at an ant, stomped on it, but not hard enough to leave it dead? What?_

Crona stood up and stared at the ant on the floor. "Um…okay."

Mary took his hand and led him to the game shop. While Mary was on her knees searching for a specific type of game, Ragnarok whispered to Crona, "What the hell was _that _about? Is she on drugs or something?"

Crona was quick to defend, "No Ragnarok, she's not on drugs….I don't know what that was about though…"

"Pssh!" Ragnarok rolled his X's. "Why don't you call Ms. Cow and ask her for advice?" Ragnarok went back inside Crona.

He nodded, took out his iDeath and before he clicked to unlock it, saw himself in the black screen. He remembered the day Mary went with him to buy the phone. He smiled. What a great day that was. For him, not Mary, because she almost had to move away—something Crona's heart had ached about at the time. He remembered how he could barely breathe, and he didn't know why. He hadn't known her for long…but that wavelength. It troubled him, brought back bad memories that he spent time sealing away. Mary was leaving, just like back then….

Crona shook his head and snapped out of it. He had to focus on the task at hand. To text Maka about what he should do. His best friend would give him the best advice when it came to everything. Friends, homework, the school, unfamiliar wavelengths invading his brain and flooding back awful memories…All that good stuff.

He unlocked his phone and started texting Maka about his situation and what her opinion was on Mary and the ant.

Maka replied by telling him that Death the Kid had noted that Mary seemed to space out most of the time and became distracted easily. Crona frowned at that. If Kid knew that that meant that he had spent a lot of time with her…more than Maka. Crona couldn't identify what the unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach was, but he chose to ignore it.

He also asked about Mary's mood swings. Maka didn't bring up the any biological factors that could easily come in play because there was a difference. When she was around Mary she also noted about her behavior. She researched to know if she was bipolar but she couldn't bring herself to the fact. A doctor had to diagnose that, not her. But she knew that Mary would change her emotion rather quickly or sometimes it would take a while to sink in that she had swiftly changed. Maka wanted to know if it was something in Mary's past that had triggered such a thing. She knew she was bullied but that was about it. No one but Adriana and Arachne knew about the death of Mary's sister Sally. Of course, Maka understood if there was another factor that Mary didn't want to share. It was perfectly okay.

Maka simply told Crona that it _could _be a bipolar disorder, but not to count on it. When Crona asked about what he should do when that happens, Maka responded that the emotion she changed to would either go away as fast as it arrived, or stay for hours. So, depending on the emotion, if it was not a comfortable one, Crona had to take advantage of Mary's tendency to get easily distracted so their date (or relationship for that matter) wouldn't stump.

Another thing he could do was act miserable (whether he was or not) and, as Maka put it, she would "soften up" and spoil him. Crona didn't know whether this was true or not, but he didn't want to take advantage of Mary's flaws. He knew it wasn't right…but if it was absolutely necessary.

The last thing Maka told Crona was for them to go around the mall and talk normally, and when Crona asked her where to go for something serious, Maka told him that they should try a small park that was a block from Death City's famous mall. Then she asked what was wrong, only for Crona to shrug it off with a 'nothing'.

* * *

Mary didn't buy anything in the game shop; she also didn't buy anything in any other place they went to. Not, that she didn't have money to spend; it was just that she didn't want to spend it.

At last the mall was closing in the next ten minutes and Mary and Crona were in a bench, finishing up their coffee.

Mary had not had any _dramatic _changes in her mood, though she _had _been distracted by many things along the way: plants, people, cats…a rodeo clown throwing pies at random civilians. The usual.

When they threw their coffees away, they began to walk back to Mary's apartment. Maka told Crona that true gentlemen should walk their date home.

Crona made sure to stop at an empty park. When Mary turned around to ask him what was wrong, he simply ignored her and walked inside the park, made his way to the two swings, and sat down on one of them.

Mary raised an eyebrow, shrugged and stood next to Crona.

Crona stared up at her, he had wanted to have a serious façade, but Mary's choice of not to sit down confused him. "Aren't you going to sit?"

Mary seemed to be looking up at the grinning moon; the sun had set at least an hour ago. Crona had wanted to watch the sunset with Mary, but they missed their chance.

"I don't have the best memories with swings…I'd rather not sit on any for the rest of my life…" She closed her eyes and stood there, arms across chest, standing motionlessly, breathing slowly.

Crona blinked and looked down at the ground. There was a lot of wind today—they had to bring heavy jackets just in case the sun had set before they left the mall—and the green grass was swaying, allowing the wind to take control.

Crona breathed in heavily and tried to relax. But Maka's words kept popping into his head: "You should never let a lady stand up when you're sitting down, it's rude."

Crona opened his eyes, and sheepishly looked over at Mary. Her eyes were still closed and Crona felt distant. As if he was a complete stranger to her. As if they had never talked with each other. As if they had not just spent hours inside a mall. Was Mary blocking him out for a reason? Was she distracted again? Or was she having another mood swing?

Crona's eyes drooped and he asked, "Are you okay?"

"No, I don't like parks," Mary answered truthfully. She paused and then added, "It was the place where I was bullied most of the time."

Crona's eyes snapped open. _What? She was _bullied?! Crona rose from the swing and was about to sputter questions when he missed a step and tripped. He fell to the ground with a thud.

Mary was immediately by his side holding his shoulders. "Crona, are you okay?!"

Crona inwardly smiled. _She still cares. _"Y-Yeah…I'm f-fine…" Mary wanted to help Crona up to his feet, but Crona instead sat on his butt, with his legs crossed. He patted to the ground next to him, slightly blushing.

Mary took the hint and sat down next to him. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I-I am…but…are you?" Crona looked at her, eyes now grey.

"What do you mean?"

"You were bullied at parks…right?"

"Who told you that?" Mary's face was so close to Crona's that he could _smell _her. Crona was taken back. Hadn't she just told him mere _seconds _ago?

Crona looked down at the green grass, hoping that she wouldn't see his blush. "Y-Y-You told me…!" Crona protested weakly.

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow. "When?"

"Just now…?" Crona was confused. How could she forget something so quickly?

"Oh…sorry, I have mad memory," Mary confessed (if you could call it that) and brought her knees to her chest.

"Do you know why?" Crona mimicked her.

She shrugged. "I don't know, my parent's noticed it when my sister died," Crona's eyes widened, he was amazed at how she just said that simply. "…but they didn't do anything about it. They thought it was more likely of an incident I had when I was small."

"I'm sorry…about your sister," Crona had to specify, she had said so many horrors in one sentence.

"It's fine. It's in the past, there's nothing I could do about it…"

"D-Do you mind t-telling me a-a-about the incident?" He felt a burning curiosity that he couldn't quite put out. He was interested in Mary's past, he hoped that uncovering it could help them get closer…or understand her…or figure out what her wavelength is about.

"I don't mind, but I don't remember. Now, before you start shaking your head at me, doctors' consider this normal. They don't believe it has anything to do with my horrible memory—they believe it's because they incident was too traumatizing that I simply put it away, like, in the back of my head."

"I know what you mean," Crona whispered, tightening his grip on his legs. "I had an incident as well when I was smaller. It was horrible. I had to lock all the memories away and never open them again…but today…they were released."

Mary's eyes widened. She couldn't imagine the pain of having unwanted memories come flooding back to haunt you. "Was that what happened in the movie theatre?"

"Yeah…"

"And what caused that exactly? Was it something _I _did or…?" Mary was at a loss for words. This time, the scene was perfectly etched into her mind. After she hugged Crona…

"I felt a wavelength…"

"Who's?"

"Well it was after you hugged me, so I think it was yours," Crona flashed a stare at her, a look that accused her for the attack.

"Mine? I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…?" Crona could hear the uncertainty in her words. She was confused, she had obviously not meant to cause trouble.

"I wonder…" Crona hugged his legs closer. "Why it happened when you hugged me, and not anytime before that."

He was glad that Mary was brainstorming along with him. They had been together in other occasions. So it couldn't have been _just _because they had physical contact; they've shared brief hugs in the past, so it wasn't that. Could it have been because they were alone? They weren't _technically _alone, but, in the sense of being without their friends.

"Maybe it was a fluke!" Mary suggested when they had reached a dead end.

Crona didn't blame Mary for not knowing what she was spewing. She didn't know the back-story behind Crona's little _incident. _A large part of him was hoping that the one he lost so long ago was the one talking to him: that would bring him complete happiness. But another part of him hoped it wasn't: that part was trying to protect his broken heart. It was their job to keep anyone from harming it again.

It was a long day—Crona would have to sleep on it.

* * *

**Author's **_**Notes: **_Next chapter will be up much faster! Except it soon!

Hero: …SO many questions!

Fire on ahead!

Hero: The wavelength thing wasn't explained! :(

I know, I know, it's pretty vague. But next chapter will explain it in detail, I promise!

Hero: Why was Mary staring at the ant!?

I…have no idea. I had a lot of trouble writing that scene. :/ It was really weird.

Hero: Is she on drugs?

No.

Hero: Then—!

Look, I don't know okay? You could form your own theory. The reason I haven't _labeled _her is because I don't want to offend anyone who might have a mood disorder or someone who might be easily distracted.

Hero: What about the memory-thing?

I myself sometimes have trouble remembering things, and it could and is frustrating at times. But it's not as severe as Mary seems to make it out to be.

Hero: It's time for my job!

?

Hero: The Black Joker's portrayal of Mary's mood swings, severity in memory, and tendency to be easily distracted is not meant to offend anyone. It is the reason they are not categorizing it.

"They"?

Hero: If it offends anyone…then…please let us know how we could-ah, _UN-_offend…I guess.

Stay tune for the next chapter, where this will be explained in detail.


	26. The Evil Human with a Stupid Idea

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Soul Eater, only OC's.

* * *

I stopped and stared at Mission Bulletin. And took a look around, and faced Adriana, "Hey—"

"What are we doing here!" she roared. Man, what is _up _with her?

"Um…calm down. We're here because we need to pick another mission," I explain as calmly as possible.

"But I'm tired," she whined, dropping her arms to the floor.

"I don't care!" I tell her without mercy. I face the board again. "Now…which mission should we choose?"

"_Ninguna," _she answered in Spanish, with both of her arms crossed against her chest.

I ignore her and point to one of the many cards, "How 'bout this one?"

She sighs and asks, "What's it about?"

"Can't you look up and read?"

She inhaled. "Why do you _hate me?_"

"…Because you're annoying. Now read the pretty cards."

She looks up and stares at the bulletin. "Oh my god!"

"What?!"

"So many words!" She puts her hands on her face.

"You know what? I'm going to pick…" I close my eyes and randomly point at one of the cards. I open my eyes and smile. "Well this mission looks…interesting." I pick out the card and walk over to the receptionist.

"Ma'am, can my partner and I do this mission?" I ask her while giving her the card.

"Um…" She takes the card and with her other hand, twitches her glasses. "Let's see now…you and your partner are qualified for this mission, but this mission if for _two _meisters to accomplish. So, until another meister comes along for this mission, I'm going to have to ask you to wait."

"Oh, ok…Thank you, ma'am!"

* * *

I put my pencil down, and rest my head on my failed test.

I spent all my free time yesterday memorizing facts with many of my textbooks, while Adriana and Eruka were watching TV. I knew that I had to study extra hard to ace this test, because if I don't then—well, _this _would be happening.

As I was flying through the questions with no worries in the world, I took a small break to look around the room, and wouldn't you know it, when I read question twenty my mind went completely blank!

All the facts I learned yesterday completely disappeared! I so badly wanted to flip a table when that happened, but now I just want to cry.

This is awful~!

I raise my head and scan the room.

Maybe I'm not alone. Maybe there're others who are in a worst dilemma than I.

Well, Maka, Ox, and a couple of other's are done. Death the Kid is almost done. Liz is playing with her hair, and Patty is happily humming to herself. But…Adriana…she's completely _mortified! _

Ha-ha!

I knew it! She didn't study _at all_ yesterday! When I told her she simply waved and said, "Oh, I'll just cram!"

Cram my Doritos! Now she's hopeless!

I look back at my paper—I just had _ten more questions to go! Why memory, why?!_

I slump my head back down and wait for either some facts to miraculously return or for Ms. Marie to declare the test over.

After Ms. Marie's exam, Adriana and I were about to exit her room when Ms. Marie stopped us and said, "Mary, Adriana, Lord Death requires your presence in the Death Room."

* * *

"Yo! Hey! Hiya! Glad to see you guys together!" Lord Death waves one of his large hands.

"Hello Lord Death," I politely greet.

"H-Hi…Lord Death…" Crona's in this mission as well! Hurra~!

"Now, it has come to my attention that you two and your weapons have applied for the same mission! Now, I'm going to explain the mission in full detail," he raises one finger, "so listen up!

"Now, we have cited some…_tents _around Death City. Of course this is immediately suspicious—why would someone camp outside of Death City? There's no real reason.

"I want you two to go outside of Death City and investigate as to who owns these tents and what they may want. Okay?"

"That's all…Lord Death?" That seems like the description that was on the card…

"Yep, pretty much!"

"So…Crona and I have to investigate as to why these tents are outside of Death City?"

"Uh-huh. If you discover anything, be sure to report back!"

* * *

"Where the hell is Crona?!"

"I don't know! And next time, would you care as to _not _spit on my face?"

"Well, _someone's _cranky!"

"What?! Looks who's talking!"

Adriana scoffs and turns away. I don't blame her crankiness, and I don't blame _my _crappiness either. It's almost dark and Crona hasn't showed up.

After we exited the Death Room we both agreed to meet up outside of Death City. But the sun is setting, and so far, I don't see Crona.

I don't know how long we've been standing here, but judging just how uncomfortable and irritable we both are, we've probably been here a _while._

Crona shows up a few minutes later. "S-Sorry I'm late…" Just an apology, he doesn't give us a reason as to why he was late. Sure, it's none of our business, but we've been waiting _quite _a while, so I think we deserve it.

But considering the death glare Adriana was giving, I knew I had to be the nice one. "Oh, it's fine Crona! Don't worry, all that matters is that you're here and that we can complete the mission!"

Crona slightly blushes and nods timidly.

"Adriana, turn into a weapon." Adriana simply nods and turns into her club form. I place her on my back…I actually made a pit-stop to a weapon store, and I bought this...thing (the woman told me what it's called but I forgot) that I could place Adriana on.

"Alright Crona, let's investigate."

We started to walk around to see if we can spot a tent.

I'll try to make conversation to pass the time. "So…" He slightly turned his head over to me. "How's life…?"

"Hey you two!" We both automatically freeze. _Was he talking about _us_?!_ I look back. There's an unmistakable figure wearing a full camouflage body suit, with a turtle-like helmet. "You with the red hair!" _Yep, he's talking about us._

Well…raisin cookies!

I grabbed Crona's hand and made a run for it. "Intruders! Intruders!" the voice called out.

"Wh-What are we going to do?!" Crona questioned in paranoia.

"We're going to hide!" Because that's all I can think of!

I quickly spotted a medium-sized green tent. Should we go in there?! I look back. The guy is gone…I'm pretty sure he went to alert others that intruders are around.

"In here," I tell Crona. I let go of his hand, and open the entrance to the tent. I glide inside. I open up one side and wait for Crona to enter. "C'mon. Let's go."

Crona stood there, eyed the inside and shook his head. "N-No! I-I mean…wh-what if…the-there's someone in-inside…?"

I walked deeper inside and quickly hit my head on something. "Ow!"

"A-Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry!" I touch the object and quickly find a switch. I close my eyes as the lantern illuminates the room.

After my eyes adjust to the yellow light, I examine the room. Well, aren't we the luckiest!

I return to the front of the tent and tell Crona, "Don't worry. There's no one in here. Now come in, I think this mission will be easier than we thought."

Crona slowly steps inside the tent and Ragnarok escapes. "So…what is this room? Is there food?" Ragnarok asks.

I close the tent and zip it up. "Hey, hey, what are you doing, Ginger?!" I stare at Ragnarok. _Ginger? Huh. _

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?!" He points one of his hands at me. "I _know _what you're trying to do Ginger! You want to molest Crona, don't you?!"

"Wha—?" I can't help but blush at the thought.

"Don't you 'wha' me! I've seen the way you look at my meister! All along you've awaited this opportunity! Now, you're going to molest him where no one can hear his pathetic screams for help! You're disgusting!"

"Ragnarok!" Crona scolded.

"Don't _you _'Ragnarok!' me! I know that you _want _her to molest you!" Ragnarok puts both of his hands on Crona's skull and pushes down on him. "I'm protecting you and _this _is how you repay me?! By taking _her _side?!" Ragnarok suddenly let's go. "Fine, but when she's done with you, don't come crying to _me!"_

"And the show suddenly ends," I state in unison.

"Mary, I am _so _sorry!" Crona apologizes, his cheeks burning with an odd dark shade of red.

"Don't worry about it Crona," I shrug. "Maka has warned me about Ragnarok's perverted ways."

"O-Oh…" He takes his hand to his shoulder and looks to his sides….I wonder what he's looking at.

"So!" He jumps. "Heh, sorry, didn't mean to scare ya."

"N-No…it's fine…"

"So," I walk past him and head for the clothing rack. "See, this tent has uniforms, the same one's that that guy who called us out was wearing." I pick one from its rack and showed it to Crona. "I was thinking. We'll have an easier chance to walk around and investigate while wearing these. What do you think?"

Crona blinked. His blush was gone, and his mouth was hanging open. "Th-That sounds like a great plan…" he mused.

"Thanks!" I smile. "It's about _time _someone compliments me about the things that matter. Like missions and whatnot." I turn back to the uniforms. "So, uh, pick one that fits!"

I select a random one and check to see if it fits. Nope. This one? Nope. How about this one? Nope.

Soon enough Crona joins in. He copies my procedure. He picked a random one, placed on his chest and checked to see if it would fit. "Hey, that one looks like it fits."

He looks up. "Y-You think?"

"Yeah." I walk over and place my hand on his stomach. I hear a small gasp. I choose not to address it. "I think this one will fit just fine. You should try it on." I meet his eyes and after a few seconds something in his head clicks.

"Oh right! Um, yeah, I-I'll go do that, now." He trips on his way to the back of the rack. He turns back and with a small smile he says, "Woops."

"Heh-heh, be careful." He's so cute!

Once he's around the rack I hear a splashing sound, which can only mean…"Man, did you feel that Crona? There was so much sexual tension between you too! Honestly! The things you teenagers do!"

"Be quiet Ragnarok! There was no—you know, what you just said! She was just helping me, that's all…"

"Ha! You're so naïve! She was feeling your stomach man! Just a little lower and right there and then an explosion would've occurred!"

"Sh-Shut up Ragnarok!"

"Oh I see…" Ragnarok's voice turned bitter sweet. "You _do _want her to touch you. I was joking the last time, but now I see that it's the truth…" But soon enough Ragnarok started yelling again, "You want Ginger to touch your di—!"

"Ragnarok she can hear you!" True that.

"Ah who cares?! She was hearing us since the beginning!"

Suddenly I heard something heavy hit the floor. Curious I ducked down and noticed a black matter on the floor and two legs. Oh…

I rise and shift uncomfortably through the uniforms…_Damn hormones._

After a while I found a uniform that fit. I decided it was best to tell Crona that I was going to start changing…Just in case he decided to suddenly come back. "Crona, I found a uniform, I'm going to change now, ok?"

I heard a few whispers and thumps until I heard the resounding word: "Okay."

With that said I draw Adriana from my thingy and place her down on the floor. I then quickly remove my black suspenders, take of my red t-shirt and both of my white striped fingerless gloves—they land on the floor with a thud. I also remove my black boots and socks, followed by my black shorts.

I grab the uniform and set it down to ankle-level. I was about to place one foot in when I heard a loud thump.

I immediately look over to my right to see Crona—and Ragnarok—on the floor.

Crona is already fully clothed in his camouflaged uniform. One hand is near his waist holding his turtle-shelled-like helmet, while the other hand is spread out above his hand.

He slowly opens his eyes and unfortunately lays them on me. His eyes widen to the size of plates, his darkened blush marks the surface, and Ragnarok snickers. "See, Crona? Now you've seen a girl in her bra and panties…Though, wouldn't it have been _awesome _if she wasn't wearing anything underneath?!"

I frown and continue to place my leg inside the outfit. "Mary I—" Crona collects himself on the floor and gradually rises. By then I've placed both legs in and I'm now inserting both of my hands through the sleeves.

"I'm _really _sorry!" I look at Crona who has both of his hands out and two droplets of tears on the corner of his eyes.

"Don't worry about it." I warmly smile. "It's really not such a big deal; it was Ragnarok's comment that threw me off that's all."

Ragnarok chuckles darkly. "You had it coming…"

"_Ragnarok." _My eyes widen as I cast my eyes on Crona again. His eyes have changed color and are now a clear green. He's looking up at Ragnarok in the most _haunting _manner…

Ragnarok looks down. "What?"

"_Stop." _That one word had a lasting effect on both Ragnarok and I. Those eyes were filled with danger and…_bloodlust. _ "S-Sure Crona!" Ragnarok retreated in fear inside of Crona. 'IN FEAR'?! The bully just got scared of the bullyee! HA!

Crona now sets his eyes on me. _I will not shit my pants. I will not shit my pants. Remember potty training—_

But—faster than you can say, 'how on earth is that even possible?'—he blinks and his eyes turn back into their deep purple hue. "S-Sorry about that Mary…Ragnarok went a bit overboard…"

A _bit _overboard?! I'd hate to see what you do if he went _overboard!_

Crona cocks his head to the side. "Mary?"

"Huh? Oh yeah! I sure do love pizza!"

"What?"

"…"

"…"

"I don't know what's happening to this world."

"I don't understand…"

"Me neither!" My lips break into a smile. "Now," I walk over to Crona and quickly turn my back. I motion with my hand, "Can you zip this up? I can't reach…"

"O-Oh! O-Okay…" For the past few seconds I feel nothing, but then I hear the zipper making its way up. I straighten my back and put both sides of the costume side by side so Crona could zip it up faster.

_**ZIP!**_

"Thanks Crona." I turn around and smile gratefully. "Now, let's go and see if we can ask anybody for some information."

"N-No." Crona meets my eyes but quickly looks back down again and blushes deeply.

"What's wrong?"

His eyes dart from my face to the floor continuously like a ping-pong game. I wait patiently. He finally takes a deep breath and asks. "A-Are you scared of me?"

Scared of Crona? The shy meister with a heart of gold? "No, of course not. Why would you ask such a thing?"

"B-Because you looked as if you were going to pass out…"

"Crona, I'm a very complicated person—" Before I can continue with my lie I break out into hysterics. "Hahahahaha!"

"What's wrong?!" Crona asks, worried that I've lost my marbles. Oh, they've been lost for _quite a while now._

"I'm-I'm-I'm sorry, Crona…" I suppress my laughter into giggles. "It's just that I lied—I'm not complicated at all. And don't worry; I wasn't going to pass out. I was just very shocked to see that you can actually control Ragnarok."

"O-Oh…ok…" He's paler than usual now, and his eyes are grey….So deep purple is normal, dominant is green, and grey is frightened/shocked. Got it!

"Now, _you _look like you're going to pass out," I point and inform.

"Heh heh," he smiles. He moves from foot to foot and keeps his eyes on the ground. "I actually feel…_comfortable _around you…" he admits while he grasps his shoulder.

"Really?" I asked, shocked. "Are you sure? …My bizarre and traumatizing laughter didn't scare you?"

"Oh no," he giggled. "It _did. _But I just mean everything else, besides the insane laughter."

"Oh," I blush. "Thanks Crona."

"You're welcome."

* * *

After we placed on our helmets and goggles (and I made sure I hid my long hair well, which was _annoying! _I am so gonna cut it later) we went outside where it was already night.

I whistled. "Wow, time goes by fast."

Crona looked up in the sky in agreement.

"Well c'mon; we can hopefully talk to some people before they go to sleep or something."

Crona nodded.

We walked over to the next tent where no one was there; it seemed that that was the story for all the other tents because they were all empty. Since it's night and no one seems to be in their tents, I can only assume that everyone is on the same location, and until we find it I have to ask Crona something before I forget.

"Hey Crona," I call out, it's sort of difficult to see his face with there being no light and all.

"Hm?"

"You have black blood right?"

The question seems to throw him off. "Right…"

"Well, um, _recently, _I've discovered that I have black blood, as well." I stop walking when Crona's frame freezes. "Um, Crona?"

"No…way." Crona falls lightly to the ground on his knees.

I walk over to him and squat down. "What's wrong?"

His eyes dart over to me. "Are…you sure?"

"Yeah." I'm positive, man! "I mean, the first time it happened was with Cruella, and now, I was recently fighting an Evil Human and I kind of, _cut myself…? _And again—viola, black blood." I hope the 'cut myself' comment didn't give him any impressions. I should've said _unintentionally._

He was still staring at me, with a slight frown. "Why, what's wrong?"

"Now, it all makes sense…"

"What do you mean?" Now it's my time to shine—I mean, slightly frown.

"You remember the movies a few weeks ago, and that wavelength I was talking about?" He adds as he observes my struggling face, "Please, tell me you remember."

I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, don't worry, I remember. So, uh, what are you saying?"

"That wavelength _was _yours, and it felt so familiar to me because I've felt it before…and I think I've _seen _you before as well."

"Are you sure? I think I would've remembered—oh…never mind…"

He nods, as if saying, 'Yes, you have no proof, now shut up.' "Yeah…I remember…back when Medusa was traveling around…I met a girl similar to you. She had red hair and green eyes…"

"Well," I chuckle. "Don't you think that could've been _anyone?"_

"But," he looked at me again, frowning deeper, as if saying, 'I just told you to shut up, you have no proof, stop squishing my random hope.'

"What? Did she _also _have a crescent moon?"

"N-No…I don't remember seeing anything like that."

"Oh." For some reason I am highly disappointed.

"But," I looked back at him, "she was part of Lady Medusa's black blood experiment…she placed her and I in the same room…so she could obtain the same madness as me."

"Wow that sounds freaky."

"Yeah," Crona nods. "She gave her the black blood, then I gave her my madness—but she was taken away before she went completely insane….But, I could swear, the first time I saw you…you reminded me of her."

"But she didn't have a crescent moon," I couldn't help but sigh. _So close to cracking that mystery from last time at the park!_

"I can't really recall. I've kept her in the back of my mind for a while now." He suddenly hugs his knees and places his chin on them. "It hurts to think about her."

"Yeah, you mentioned that you had an incident when you were smaller, right? Was it about her?" I ask, sitting down next to him.

He looks up at the stars, their lights reflecting on his light eyes. "Yeah, I'm referring to what I was talking about back at the park…" He took a deep breath before he continued, "She was the first girl I met. And she was so _nice _to me…I didn't want her to suffer with the same madness I had, but I couldn't help it. Being in the same room, with the same black blood, it almost felt _right..._I was having such a great time, talking to her…having someone to tell my feelings to, and having her understand. But in a second," he takes his hand and snaps his fingers, "she was taken away. And I never saw her again."

He was now crying, the salty tears rolling down his cheeks, and he didn't stop them. He looked at me in shock, and I quickly noticed that one of his tear streams were gone. I looked at my hand—oh, I wiped away his tears without any conscious…cool!

"Heh, sorry…"

One of his eyebrows started twitching, and he started crying again. "Sh-She did that too…When I started crying, she'd wiped away my tears..." He brought his head to his knees and started sobbing.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry! I, uh, _didn't mean to…?" _I tried to comfort him in the easiest way. A hug.

I took both of my hands and placed them on both of his shoulders, and whispered, "There, there, it's okay…" He continues to cry and suddenly an idea pops inside my head.

I'll sing him a song! Just like I used to do when Sally got injured, or when she was feeling glum. I clear my throat, close my eyes, and begin:

"_When you were here before_

_Couldn't look you in the eye_

_You're just like an angel_

_Your skin makes me cry_

_You float like a feather_

_In a beautiful world_

_And I wish I was special_

_You're so very special_

_But I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo._

_What the hell am I doing here?_

_I don't belong here…"_

When I finish I open my eyes to see Crona's eyes grey and widened. I suddenly feel very awkward, so I do what I do best when I feel awkward…I freeze. "What's wrong? Didn't you like the song?" _Maybe he's just frightened because you _hugged him _without his _permission!

"N-No…I liked it…it's just…She sang that to me, too."

Now I take my hands away in fear. Someone else sang that to him? Great, now I feel less special for knowing that song.

"I-I think…that you _are _her," Crona says with a small smile.

"But I don't…remember ever meeting you…"

His smile immediately disappears, his eyebrows furrowed, and his eye color turned green. "Yeah," a dark edge appears on his voice, "and you also didn't remember your black blood the first time you _coughed _it up!"

"Hey…that hurt."

He swiftly rises. "Are you kidding me?! You don't know _how _hurt _I _am! I've thought about her _all these years, _hoping and hoping that one day she'd return! And you're treating this as if were some type of game—as if my _feelings _were some time of game!"

I rise as well, and I try to keep a calm demeanor. I feel as if I just poured a ton of salt to one of Crona's open wounds—which in this case seems to be his heart. "I'm sorry Crona, but I just don't remember—"

"Your memory isn't the best judge!"

"Ok, ok! I get it! But, why are you so mad?" I feel awful! Why did I have to say that I don't _remember _him?! Damn it, Mary!

"Your attitude!" he responds, madder now. "After all that, after you brought that godforsaken memory of that _song, _you brush of the possibility by saying that something as unclear as your _memory _can judge whether I've finally found her, my first possible friend?!"

"I thought Maka—"

"Yeah!" I'm getting the feeling that Crona's nearing insanity. "Sometimes I have to _force _myself to believe that she wasn't even _real! _That I talked to a figment of my imagination! But I keep telling myself that maybe—_just maybe _she'll show up again! Maybe our souls will sense each other! Maybe we'll just _randomly _meet! Maybe our black blood will somehow attract us to the same place! I don't know! Every day I'm hoping!"

"I'm sorry Crona…You're right…I shouldn't have said that." I look down at the white sand.

I could still hear his ragged breath. After a while he starts to calm down, and one nervous cough later he asks, "Why did you tell me about the black blood anyway?"

I keep staring at the ground. "I thought you could help me control the black blood better…" Josh, my heart aches.

"Oh, a-alright," his sweet voice returns, but is quickly replaced with worry. "D-Did I do something wrong?"

"N-No…" But of course my voice cracks, and my vision is suddenly blurred. I blink, and a couple of tears fall to the sand.

"A-Are you c-crying?!"

"No…" I bring the palm of my hand over to my eyes and wipe away the tears.

"Oh my god, Mary, I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to make you cry!" I hear crunching footsteps nearing me, and soon enough I can see his camouflaged chest.

His arms float around my shoulders: To comfort or not to comfort that is the question.

He chose to take a chance, and I roughly bumped me into him. Ow, I mouthed.

"I'm sorry Mary…" He rests his cheek on my head. "I-I d-didn't mean to m-make you c-cry…I was just…upset."

I sniff. "It's okay. I realize that I hurt your feelings."

"Yeah, b-but did I hurt yours?"

"No, it's just that I was taken by how much of an _awful _person I am. Making you feel as if I didn't care about your feelings."

"You're not awful; I just…it's just…that's a, ah, _sensitive _subject. That's why I didn't dwell into it before. Because there's basically no hope in ever finding her…"

I smile into to his chest. "Don't worry. There's always hope. If what you say is true, there can be _many _ways in finding her."

* * *

We had circled the whole perimeter of the DWMA before we saw a huddled mass surrounding a fire.

"Hey you two!" The only man who was standing up waved at us; the fire emitted its red and orange color on his silhouette.

Crona sought comfort by taking my hand in a heartbeat.

We finally reach the outer outline of the mass. I took a deep breath. "Where were you two?" And so the questioning begins.

"We were…" _Might as well say the truth. _"We were lost…sir."

I did well by saying 'sir'; I lost when I said 'lost'. "You were lost, you say?" The 'leader' I guess, circled the fire, and after a while he said, "So you two are new, correct?"

"Yes sir."

"So, tomorrow when our plan commences you will be in charge on barf-duty."

I blinked. "Ok…sir."

"And _you," _his eyes narrowed towards Crona. "What's your name?"

My eyes darted at Crona; his mouth was hanging open, obviously dumbstruck. "His name is David, sir."

"I don't think I asked _you, _did I?"

"I know, sir, but you see he's…mute." I inwardly cringe.

"Mute?" He was taken off by the idea. But that expression quickly melted away and was replaced with amusement. "A mute Evil Human…? Is he blind too, because it seems that you two are holding hands." I jumped when the mass surrounding us guffawed.

The 'leader'—I shall name him Diego! chuckled as well only to stop dead on his tracks. "Enough." Silence washed over the small area. "Well?"

"Well what?"

Diego blinked. "Is he blind?"

"Oh…No."

"Then," he squinted, "why are you holding his hand?"

"Because I'm in love, sir." Loud gasps came out of the mouths of the mass.

"What?" Heh-heh…

"Yes," I turned to Crona and hugged him. "I love you David!"

I stopped hugging him and took in his expression: wide eyes, open mouth, staring at particularly nothing, yep, he's in shock.

Diego was deeply disturbed but he said, "Ok, um, please keep your personal life to yourself, thank you, and just sit down so we may review the plan."

I happily sat down and took Crona with me.

"Why did you say that?" he whispered.

"Because it's true," I whispered back without looking at him.

Diego coughed to get everyone's attention, and announced, "All right! Today one of our kind reported seeing two intruders in our area. One red headed girl, with green eyes, and one pink headed girl, no eye color was seen for her. So if you unmistakably see two women, bring them to me and I shall deal with them." Crona shifts uncomfortably and bumps my shoulder.

"Now—onto tomorrow's mission!" He coughed and began pacing. "As you all now we have been waiting for the famous truck that will be entering Death City to bring it things like food and supplies. Well, we are going to hijack the truck, and once we enter Death City we will cause chaos, and overtake Lord Death!"

A ton of "Hurray's" followed that statement. Diego motioned the group to relax with both of his hands. "Now, now, I know you're all exited, but let's all calm down. Today I want you to get a good nights' rest, and tomorrow—before the truck arrives—we will arm our weapons and attack!"

Weapon!

That reminds me!

I left Adriana back in that tent! AUGH!

"Mary are you okay?" Crona's worried voice asks.

"No," I whisper, again without meeting his gaze, "I left Adriana back inside the tent with the uniforms."

A small gasp follows. "What?"

"All right, you're all dismissed! Thank you!" Diego waves one last time and then everyone gets up and starts to leave.

* * *

I yawn loudly. "I can't believe you left me!"

"Will you get over it," I whisper. "I got you back."

"Yeah, friggin', _two hours later!" _Adriana bitched.

"Hey, don't yell at me," I snap. "Just be grateful I heard the word 'weapon' or that tent would be your new home!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" she muttered, still bitterly annoyed.

The man we've been waiting for arrives and we all immediately straighten ourselves for the check-out.

I'm so tired! I couldn't sleep at all yesterday!

It turned out, that we couldn't go back to Lord Death; the mass of Evil Humans carried us towards our designated tents. I had to tell Crona to stand outside whatever tent we were designated, so I can return to the uniform tent in order to get back Adriana.

First off, I was on some uncomfortable mattress, sharing a bed with Crona. Let me make that clear: _sharing a bed with Crona! _I didn't dare fall asleep; there were so many things that could happen! For one, my parents reported that whenever I slept with them, I would kick them like a horse. Second, what if I sleepwalked, or sleeptalked… (gasp) or sleep_slapped!_

Second off, when I looked at my four Evil Human roommates, it was obvious: all males. And that got me thinking…_I don't know whether to hide my cleavage or not. I mean…sure I'm not Patty or Arachne but I'm not a complete flat chest either…So should I? Did anyone even notice?! Can I just say that I have some fat man boobs?!_

So after that disturbing thought process I just went along with my plan to hide my cleavage…Which I forgot to do this morning! _[Censored]. _MY. LIFE.

The man checking up on us finally got to me. He took off my goggles and looked at my eyes. "Well, you're a rare one aren't you?" He then let my goggles go and they hit the corners of my eyes. He then went to check on my body. That's when I held my breath.

"Huh." He was then out of sight. And then—

My shoulders were pulled up as someone held me by the underarms. "This one's female!" He called out. Curious and surprised faces turned towards me as Diego entered my vision and started to walk towards my front. "Well, well," he stopped walking, "_well._" He's smiling, showing off some of his teeth. "I guess you didn't do a good job to hide yourself," he looked down at my chest, "did you?"

I simply stared at him, too tired (in both senses) to do anything. "And you," he turned towards Crona, whom was right next to me. Crona perked up when he realized that he was addressing him. "Did you really think you had me falling for the whole 'mute' act? Please, that's as _stupid _as one can get...Let me guess, you're both students of the DWMA? Here to stop our attack? Well, you can both kiss," he neared Crona, while the other Evil Humans stepped back, "my," he neared me, "ass." He regains his ordinary position.

"Hn…Go on, get rid of them both." He started walking away as we were completely circled by our 'fellow' Evil Humans. I quickly noticed a pulling in my back, and when I turned around, I realize that the one who was holding me took Adriana.

"Hey, give that back!" I command.

"Hurtful!" Adriana yells, insulted that I referred to her as an object.

"Mary what do we do?" Crona whispered to me.

"I don't—" All the Evil Humans all of a sudden pull out their weapons and draw them forward, their menacing blades taunting us to wet our pants in fear. I spread out my legs. I can handle self-defense; it's something Kid taught me. And it should come in handy now…but yet, the odds are too much. I can't even count how many are surrounding us. So either way, I'll lose.

Crona scares the crap out of me by moving in front of me. "Crona what are you doing?!" The pissed off redhead who just peed herself a little asks.

"Don't worry Mary, I'll protect you," he says noble-like.

Oh boy, now, where have I seen _this _piece of art before? A man protecting a woman from danger?

But seriously this is extremely cheesy and insulting…but, hey, it's Crona! He's more feminine that a Barbie doll! So I guess it's acceptable!…Though I'm still going to do something…not just stand around looking lost.

Ragnarok's sword form suddenly appears on Crona's hand…he then throws Ragnarok in the air. All eyes follow the black and white swords flight.

"Mary, now, get Adriana!" My eyes widened. I immediately understood. I ran back and kicked the Evil Human holding Adriana in the stomach. He doubled over and I grabbed Adriana from him; I then bashed him in the head. A red soul replaced where the Evil human used to stand.

I smirk.

Game Over.

* * *

**Author's Note: **There are some things I want to address: Adriana was asleep most of the time which is why she didn't say anything when Mary left her; if you're wondering why Mary didn't zip Crona's outfit, it's because Ragnarok did it for him; Mary's "thingy" is a custom made sheath for Adriana that Mary paid with the money she earned from DWMA (Fun Fact: every week the students get 200 dollars to spend). The sheath is quite large, made specifically for Adriana's size, and for the comfort of Mary's back.

Hero: That's alot'a stuff.

Yeah, well, I don't want to have my readers scratch their heads at some of the things.

Hero: This chapter was lame! Stupid Crona…

Don't say that about Crona! He's an awesome character! One of my favorites!

Hero: I thought _I _was your favorite!

I saw you were _one _of my favorites.

Hero: *mumbles incoherent words*

By the way, I'm sorry I didn't continue, I added more than planned to this chapter. The next chapter will include fighting, so that's always fun, right?

Hero: How dare you encourage fighting?! :o

It's _Soul Eater, _fighting is expected…sometimes.

Hero: Wait! There's a line…_"__Ginger? Huh." _I thought Ragnarok's called her that before. But she acts as if—

…

Hero: *sigh* She forgot again…didn't she?

I think you know the answer :/

Hero: Well, whatever. I can't _wait _for the next chapter! I love violence! (:

That's not something you want to...Oh whatever.

Thank you for reading!

_The whole, Crona-throwing-Ragnarok-in-the-air-thing was an idea of my friend Anthony. I will also be giving him credit for the next chapter since he helped me with it and all._


	27. Take That, Mary?

**Author's Note: **Like I said last time, this chapter includes fighting. And I would like to give credit to my friend Anthony who had helped me with this chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Soul Eater, only OC's.

**Warning: **This chapter contains violence, and violence means blood…

* * *

While the stupid Evil Humans were looking at Ragnarok's pretty form, I ran towards the right side of the circle and ran counterclockwise, knocking many of the distracted Evil Humans down. When I finished with the first row, I prepared myself for the second, who were scrambling with their weapons as they realized what was happening.

I focused on what Kid had taught me. "_No that's not symmetrical!" _Okay, maybe not _that. _

I went straight toward an unsuspected Evil Human and pushed him to the ground. I started spinning with Adriana and knocking many of them down, decreasing their numbers.

Now that I was inside their rows I could start tumbling many of them down. Giving us less to worry about.

After a while of spinning I started to get dizzy. (You are truly a genius!) So I had to stop; but of course, I had to stop _force _myself to stop. So when I placed a violent step on the sand…I fell.

Gah…I could feel the bitter sand in my mouth. "It's crunchy…" I commented.

"Dude, stop eating sand!" Adriana scolded as if I were a child visiting a park for her first time.

"I wasn't _eating it! _I was…tasting its texture for future purposes."

"The fu—?" I stood up just in time. Kid was right, I'm barely aware of my surroundings. Three Evil Humans were running towards me: weapons ready to strike and pierce skin.

"Oh cra—!" I blocked two swords with Adriana. Before the third sword could cut my shoulder, I told Adriana, "Spikes!" Immediately a dozen sharp, iron-like spikes rose and caught the swords tip in its horned clutches.

I jumped a few feet back and examined what was in front of me. A couple of brilliant red souls were scattered around; other survivors were recovering from my chaotic spinning; while others had menacing look on their faces, prepared to kill and eat our souls.

Well…Google sculptures!

"Mary, watch out!" I heard a distant voice cry out. My eyes widened as I just sensed the presence behind me. _"Take note of your surroundings. Never miss an inch." _Oh _now _you're wise words come to mind!

I twisted my leg around in an attempt to turn around, but the sand doesn't like me apparently. I was too slow to fully turn around, and I _knew _it was too late when something hit my left shoulder. It felt as if my bones had been thrown back. Bent deeper into my back where they anatomically don't belong.

I fell to the tough sand, and I swear, it seemed like I sunk a few inches into it from the impact of whatever it was that had hit me with such…_bizarre _power.

I squinted with one eye at the shadow that was above me—fortunately blocking the laughing sun from my eyes.

It was Diego. Holding a giant, freakin' _sledgehammer! _

He swung it over his shoulder with one hand. He no longer blocked the sun now. So I had no choice but to close my eyes. I gripped the sand with my right hand and tried to move away. I did. With a blow to left cheek.

I wouldn't be surprised if my cheek bones were shattered into a million pieces.

All I heard after seeping through the cracks…was my name.

* * *

Crona watched, terrified, eyes widened, as Mary was hit with a sledgehammer to the left side of her face. The blow had sent her flying to her right; her body had bounced a couple of times until it proceeded to roll relentlessly. Then finally stopping with her face to the sand.

Crona swallowed, trying very hard not to imagine what the left side of her face would look like. But beyond that…Crona was enraged. This-this-_demon _had just _hit _his friend as if she were some golf ball!

No.

No, Diego, that's not how the world works.

Crona gritted his teeth, small droplets of water in the corner of his eyes; he was trying to hold back his fury. But alas…he could not.

"C'mon Crona! Are ya gonna let this asshole get away with what he did to ya girlfriend?!" Ragnarok words only amped Crona's hatred towards Diego. He gripped Ragnarok and whispered, "Scream resonance."

Ragnarok's mouth responded, "Gupi."

"_Peeeeeeeeeeeee-Yooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwww!"_

Ragnarok's sword form vibrated with tremendous amount of force; his shrilling screams made all the Evil Humans clutch at their ears in terror, as the sound irritated the inside of their ears. Most of them fell forward on the sand, dead, while others tried to fight Ragnarok's famous battle cry.

Diego, clutching one of his ears, lunged himself at Crona, taking the latter by surprise. Crona jumped a few feet back and began blocking Diego's attacks.

Because it took some time for Diego to raise his sledgehammer, Crona had the advantage. He gave Diego a piece of his own medicine and stabbed him: a clean cut through the same shoulder where he'd hurt Mary.

Diego flinched, causing Ragnarok, still vibrating with excitement, to cause even _more _damage to his surrounding tissues.

He tried jumping back but found it impossible to move when he has a black sword wedged in his shoulder, vibrating away at impossible speeds. His body was rattling along with Ragnarok's tempo, and he couldn't keep a steady gaze on Crona.

Crona slid Ragnarok away from the deep and bloody cut, and aimed lower…where the Evil Human's heart was.

Diego, noticing Crona's aim, took his sledgehammer and hit one if its blunt sides against Crona's chest.

But poor Diego wasn't aware of Crona's black blood, and how any impacts of that strength were completely ineffectual. The latter was barely shaken by the blunt objects impact. He ran towards a surprised Diego…

Diego's last movement…was the widening of his eyes.

* * *

Crona didn't stop to collect Diego's large red soul. He ran towards where Mary's fallen body was.

His heart beat was so thunderous, it drained the sounds of merciless screams from his ears. His legs felt like they were running through thick, heavy water, which tormented him, reminding him that he was losing precious time.

_Precious time._

The all-too-familiar black blood had tainted the yellow sand, sending his heart's acceleration flying and his legs thumping heavily against the grains underneath.

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump._

_Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum._

_Precious time._

The damage was done, he knew. He was not expecting her face to be a pretty sight. He could only imagine the worst.

The impact had rendered her left eye closed, never again to open and show the odd crescent moon that was permanently placed. Her cheekbones shattered. Probably suffering head trauma. Black blood dripping from open cuts and meat-releasing wounds.

Crona flinched. He didn't like imagining these types of things. Especially not on friends. People he held close to his heart, but not inside.

He had finally reached her. He never gave out a deep breath of relief for finally getting to his destination, only short, uneven ones that would not betray concern.

Well, his _breathing _might not have betrayed his emotions, but his _face _sure did.

Sweat poured from his pores; his arms shaking with so much force that he would have to sit on them to get them to at least calm down; his heart not decreasing and returning to its average speed.

He took Mary's right shoulder, gently, and flipped her over.

Just as he had thought...

* * *

**Author's Note: **Wow.

Hero: O.o

I _really _avoided the intended fight scene that Anthony helped me create.

Hero: What the…

It was supposed to be that Mary becomes overwhelmed and Crona has a long fight with Diego…but it didn't work out as planned. Oh well :D

Hero: What about Mary?! Is she gonna die?!

Yes Hero, the heroine is going to die before the plot arrives.

Hero: Noooooooo—

I was _joking! _Calm down!

Hero: Don't live up to your name…

Heh. She'll be _fine. _I think.

Hero: What do you mean?!

I'm kidding man! Calm yourself! Next chapter will be…I don't actually know :/ Maybe their black blood training?

Hero: …I hate you.

Hey. Watch your mouth.

Hero: NO.

Okay…Thank you for reading!

*Want to laugh at one of my many failures? Well, then go to Chapter 25: The Odd Date Part 2. Author's Notes, all the way at the bottom—Just read the second sentence, and either laugh or shake your head and lose your faith in humanity. Do you know what I'm talking about? If you read it, did you catch it? Here's the quote: "Except it soon!"*

SO, MY READERS, "EXCEPT" THE NEXT CHAPTER SOON. XD

Ha…Fail.


	28. Waiting

**Author's Note: **The Internet hates me! So what do I do when I have no Internet access? I write! Because I have nothing better to do with my life!

Hero: …That's sad.

Oh you be quiet.

So, yeah, this is the continuation of Mary's incident and blah, blah, blah, I have no Internet, kill me now.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Soul Eater…I really wish the manga chapters would be released faster though *sigh* Yeah, I only own my stupid OC's.

* * *

He was staring at the floor, lost in his thoughts, feeling guilty about what had happened in the last two hours.

Could he have done something? Was it possible to have protected her from the hit? Was this all his fault?

Maka told him that it wasn't his fault; that he was defending himself and he couldn't have gotten to her in time. Death the Kid blamed Mary for not being aware of her surroundings, claiming that that is what brought her to her downfall, but then smiled assuredly, claiming that it wouldn't happen again if he got his hands on her. Black Star invaded Crona's personal bubble and put his two strong and bulky arms on his shoulders. Black Star assured Crona that everything would be fine, and that he should trust Dr. Stein and Nygus with the operation. At the end he laughed heartily, claiming that if Mary would simply open her eyes to gaze at his "beautiful, godly face", she would heal as quickly as possible. It was Adriana's loud and harsh comment that sent Crona's nerves on fire; Tsubaki tried her best to calm him down when he dropped to his knees and started to bawl, but it ended up being Maka to hug and comfort him, murmuring that everything would turn out fine, and that Mary would be a-okay.

But…now, Crona was alone, sitting patiently, waiting outside of the Dispensary, for the news of Mary's state. He hoped with all his heart that she would be fine, that no internal or external damages were to jeopardize her health.

Being all alone, Crona found himself replaying their tense conversation over and over again. A slight smile was displayed on his face when the thought came to him: Mary would not be able to replay their entire conversation…at least, without cutting or screwing up a few of their words.

The ghostly smile quickly faded.

Crona could tell Ragnarok had appeared before the shadow on the floor made up his shape. "What do you think about this Ragnarok?" Crona asked before his weapon had time to thrash him, like he knew he would.

Ragnarok placed his balled hands on his body. "Well, if ya ask me—" He suddenly stopped as he heard a sharp intake of breath from Crona. Ragnarok sighed. As _much as he LOVED _tormenting Crona… "Look pansy…" This was a challenge for the demon weapon. His violent nature beckoned him to take a shot, an insult, a few punches to his meister, a part of him—that clearly made him sick—wanted to pat him gently on the head, and tell him—like the others—that it was not his fault.

Fortunately for the pair, Nygus opened the Dispensary door and popped her head out in the hallway, and caught sight of Crona. Her eyes widened for a second, until they returned to their normal size. "Crona? I didn't know that you were still out here. Aren't you supposed to be with your friends?"

Thanks to the support from friends, teachers, classmates, and Lord Death, Crona was able to be fully accepted to the school once more, after the unfortunate making-Marie-swallow-one-of-Medusa's-snakes incident. It took a while for the ones who did not know about Crona's position (or just Crona) to fully let him back in, but they eventually did. And did Crona savor it! He made sure that he would never let anything like that happen again. He worked really hard in school, and he tried his best to open up to people and accept their many offerings. Many who knew Crona from the beginning could tell a newcomer: "You see that kid? The one with the pink hair? Yeah, that kid—that kid was as shy as a mouse!"

Then the newcomer would say, "Sir/Ma'am/Person, I do not think that that is a good simile—"

In which the person would respond, "Hey kid, ya want to survive in this school? Yeah, okay, then shut up. So, yeah! Crona—that's his name, at least we _think _he's a he, but that's another story—he was so quiet and shy, that he would only communicate with this honor student named Maka. But, ya know, after a few series of unfortunate events, that kid's come far. He's truly opened up."

"Sir/Ma'am/Person—"

"I'm not done! …Okay now I'm done."

Then the newcomer would run away in fear and leave to their class, getting lost in the process because they're new and all.

So that's why Crona was not afraid to stand up and hug Nygus, tightly. He sought comfort from her, just like he did when he had seen his mother, walking away from the DWMA, after she had been released from their hold.

He sobbed into her dark chest.

Nygus' eyes slightly drooped. She returned his tight hug. Her clipboard hanging to the side, containing the results from Mary's little incident. "She's okay Crona." At her words his hold tightened, he squeezed with all his might, releasing all the emotions that boiled within. "She's okay."

* * *

Crona stepped inside the room, slowly, taking cautioned steps, as if he was afraid of what he might see—despite the professional words from Nygus.

Nygus had to slightly push him inside so she could fully enter the room. The room itself was dark, the only source of light being the ceiling light. Nygus noticed Crona looking at the said light. "As of now, it's better for her to avoid light."

He simply nodded, not understanding the reason at all. His worried eyes fell on the body that was laying in the white bed, covered in snow-white sheets…Crona shivered when he moved closer and saw dried black blood on the left side of Mary's pillow and on the top of the blanket…So much for snow-white.

Nygus strode over to Mary's side and simply stared. "Is sh-she re-really okay?"

Nygus let out a soft, tired sigh. The surgery had taken a couple of hours, and she alone couldn't help the redhead—that's why Dr. Stein also assisted. Nygus had been waiting for his return; he told her that he was going to fetch something useful…

The bandaged nurse turned to Crona. Her icy blue eyes seemed to match her tone of voice. "Crona, you are aware that Mary has black blood, right?" Well, even if he _wasn't _aware it would still be obvious, compliments from the sheets.

"Y-Yes…" Crona whispered, remembering Mary's confession clearly, as if it just had happened several minutes ago.

Nygus stole a glance at the Mary's sleeping body. "Then you know what you must do, I assume. Death the Kid has been training her physically—a nice act of him, but it seems so far to be proven futile. It seems that Mary can't handle dangerous missions, even with the help of an exceptional meister such as yourself." Crona slightly blushed at her words. "Unless Mary proves herself worthy then she will be downgraded to the NOT Class."

Crona eyes widened. The NOT Class stands for "Normally Overcome Target". Roughly 90% of the students are in the NOT class, and are considered "normal" in comparison to the EAT Class, which stands for "Especially Advantaged Talent." This class was the class that all his friend's were in. And if Mary got downgraded then that would mean that he would barely see her in school.

"The reason she was put in the class to begin with," Nygus started again, capturing Crona's attention once again, "was because her parents were in the class as well. And her aunt told the school to give her a chance. We did."

Nygus let her words hang in the air. _So Mary's parents went to this school…it would explain why she's a meister to begin with. Meister parents usually have meister children. _

"What about her clan…?" Crona asked. Surely her clan's power was special; surely Mary could use her clan's power to her advantage.

"What about it?" Nygus pressed, slightly frowning for some reason, as if the thought bothered her.

"Well," Crona slightly shifted. "Her c-crescent moon and all—doesn't it have abilities she can use?"

"Hm…I've had to study about the CMPC before, as part of a project I had when I was attending the DWMA. The first crescent moon isn't useful, it's when they obtain the second crescent moon that the user starts to become powerful."

"And can't she get the second crescent moon?" Crona asked, determined to find a reason for Mary to stay in the EAT Class.

"A crescent moon is activated only when the user has gone through some…_change. _To be perfectly honest, the book of the clan's history and powers doesn't specify. And now that all members are dead, there isn't a way to ask. It seems to be different for everyone though…"

"Oh…"

"Her clan's powers are beside the point," Nygus bluntly dismissed. She added, as an afterthought, "Plus, it's better for Mary not to rely on the crescent moon's powers." She squinted, as if trying to clear away a thought. "That's what got them destroyed in the first place."

"Wh-What do you mean…?"

"Well, the CMPC died away for multiple reasons, one of them being because they were abusing their power. With every crescent moon a user activates, the more power they obtain. Many of the members of the clan abused their powers—they trapped innocents, never letting them out—they transported things like money and jewels from their make-believe world and used it in the real world…They somehow produced madness, whether the crescent moon themselves caused the madness, or the power it brought is beyond us. But…" Nygus suddenly stopped, realizing that she wasn't alone, that she had a young student with her that had no business with the history at hand.

"What happened when they abused their power? Did they kill each other?" Crona whispered—the tiny flame of curiosity still alive.

"Lord Death had to go over there…and kill them off."

Crona's eyes widened to the size of plates, he froze, paralyzed, his breathing ceased.

"To be fair, Lord Death gave them their warning," Nygus' words seemed to be dripping acid, "he told them that if they continued to cause havoc, they would meet their demise. They didn't listen," Nygus put it simply.

Crona blinked, his eyes their deep purple. He looked up at Nygus, who seemed to be slightly trembling—with anger? Fear? Resentment?

"Nygus…?"

Her dark fists were now clenched and trembling. "The only reason we let Mary in this school…is because we don't want an enemy from that clan—not to mention the advantage against—"

Thankfully, before Nygus said too much to the shy meister, the main door barged open and a careless-Stein-in-a-rolling-chair entered the room, strolling freely with two sheets of paper in his hands.

And of course, he had to fall. "Ooph!"

Both Crona and Nygus turned around to look at the crazy doctor at the same time. Only to sweat-drop as Stein rose from the ground and patted his butt. "Well," Stein placed a hand on his chair and sat back down, "that was quite the trip." Stein cocked his head to the side, realizing Crona's presence. "Crona, what brings you here?"

"Ah, Dr. Stein, you've made it," Nygus greeted, with her normal, stoic tone. All those odd feelings that were displayed only minutes ago disappeared.

"Yes, and I've got some information you might want to see Nygus." His glasses flashed.

"Actually, if you don't mind, I'd like to have a talk with Cr—"

"No, no. If _you _don't mind, I'll talk to Crona. It's really important that you look at these papers…"

They both stared at each other and Nygus finally understood. "Well, of course, Dr. Stein." She walked over and took the papers from Stein's hands.

Stein flashed a gentle smile. "Now, Crona, if you don't mind, let's take a walk around the school."

As Crona and Stein exited the Dispensary, Nygus frowned at the papers. Sure enough, there was nothing but silly sketches drawn by Stein on them. Nygus knew why Stein had taken so long.

A meeting with Lord Death had taken place.

But the question was:

Why?

* * *

**Author's Note: **The Internet is back! But I didn't stop writing even though it came back while I was in the middle of this chapter.

Hero: That's good.

But I had to use it to get information for the NOT and EAT Classes from the Soul Eater wiki—the info's from there!

Hero: So, many things were revealed—

Not really—

Hero: A-HEM!

…

Hero: Well, _some _things were revealed, such as one of the reason's the clan is gone.

Yay~!

Hero: O.O

What?

Hero: I'm going to pretend you never shouted that. Anyway, I wonder what Dr. Stein has to talk to Crona about…

I wonder when I'm going to get to the freakin' mall scene!

Hero: TBJ!

What the hell is a 'TBJ'? Is that some type of Subway sandwich? If so, what is it made of? Now, I'm hungry.

Hero: *sigh* Those are your initials.

Oh! Ok! …Hi.

Hero: Hi—don't give out spoilers!

It's not a spoiler; it's was too vague to be a spoiler.

Hero: But now your readers know that when Mary's at a mall, some serious shit is gonna come down.

What did I say about cursing?

Hero: That everyone should do it because it's healthy and reasonable?

Noooo.

Hero: *sigh* I shouldn't do it because it's not nice.

There you go!

**Extra, Extra, Read All About It!: **When Nygus mentioned that Lord Death killed the CMPC members off, she _did _mean all. Then, you're going to ask: "So how did Mary's parents survive?" Well, they actually left _before _Lord Death even gave his second warning, so they weren't affected. That also goes for other families, so who really knows if there are still some CMPC members left? ^_^

Hero: Um…_you. _Since you created the story and all.

Silence!

Thank you for reading! Hopefully the black-blood-training will be next time!


	29. The Talk

**Author's Note: **Sit back down, let me tell you a tale, where justice does not prevail~

Hero: Oh God, please stop singing.

You're mean! Well anyways, I need to tell you guys a funny story—

Hero: Ugh—

—that you're gonna laugh at! *cough, cough* Yesterday, at school, I was sitting down, waiting for the teacher, when these two guys who were goofing around inch up close to me. I wasn't paying attention, so I don't know what exactly happened. But they were whipping each other with towels—one of them got pushed back, his leg collided with my head and my brain rattled like crazy!

Hero: His…leg?

Leg, I assume—again, I wasn't paying attention. Anyways, that hurt like hell! So I wept like a little girl. Woo! That's why, yesterday, I couldn't start writing this chapter, my head was hurting the whole day.

Hero: No brain damage right?

Um…no…At least, I don't _think _so! But anyways, wasn't that funny?

Hero: …Um…no.

Yes it was! Well, sorry that this chapter is late. I wrote it all today. *sigh* I'm tired.

Hero: Couldn't you just write it tomorrow?

NO.

Hero: …meep.

**By the way: **Well, while I was reading my jolly ol' chapters I came across a contradiction. Mary at one point says that she's never been physically hurt, but then when third POV comes along it says that she _has _been beaten. So…_yay contradiction! _Um, what I meant by that is that back when Mary had red blood, she was beaten sometimes, but once she got black blood, her parents made sure that she wasn't physically hurt. Because if she _was…_then I'm sure Mary would remember…Actually, scratch that, I don't think she'd remember. But, hey! Let's not take any risks! So sorry about the contradiction! She was hurt but back when she had red blood, when she got black blood, she wasn't physically harmed—so the blood wouldn't show up or anything. So yea…that's about it!

* * *

Crona braced himself for the worst. Stein was whistling nonchalantly, strolling in his stitched chair. Crona on the other hand, tried very hard to relax. He hadn't done anything _wrong, _his friends had made sure that he didn't succumb to that belief—plus, there was no foul…At least, none that he knew of. Crona wondered if it would've been right to have pressed Nygus for specific information of Mary's well-being. He shook his head. It would've been considered rude if he stuck his nose into someone else's business…But then again, doesn't he _deserve _to know?

All the while Stein was looking up at the black blooded meister. Taking amusement from the way Crona's facial expressions changed to match was he was thinking. _Quite intriguing, _thought Stein. "Crona?" he inquired.

Crona snapped out of it. He looked down at the professor with troubled eyes. "Y-Yes…?"

"Now, now, no need to be worried." Stein looked straight ahead at the empty halls of the school. By now, most of the students had gone home. The only ones who were left where some teachers, faculty members, and students who didn't have internet access at home—or students who simply wanted to be alone and study for an exam or do homework or something.

Stein sighed for many reasons. It had been a busy day. Finding that species of crocodile had been rare, but he managed with a few of his…resources. He enjoyed teaching the classes that was centered on dissection, but the classes that he had to go over old material, bored him. And finally, when his lunch break came around, he went over to his house to relax, but then he's called by Nygus who needs his help with some surgery. And this surgery took a painfully long time. It gouged most of his free time.

To make matters worse he was called to the Death Room, to go over the last known CMPC survivor's data.

"Crona, do you want to know something?"

Crona was startled by the question. What did Stein mean by that? But considering the atmosphere and tension between the two medics back at the Dispensary, Crona decided to simply agree to everything. "Sure." He nodded.

"I had a meeting with Lord Death…about Mary." Stein's green eyes looked over at Crona's face once more.

"Ah…" What else would he say? _"Really, that's _amazing! _Tell me more Dr. Stein, and while you're at it, can you tell me why I should care?" _Crona didn't find this odd. If anything, it was perfectly normal for Lord Death to talk about his students, _especially _if they came from a clan, or were a species, or half-bloods of some kind. It would give DWMA a great advantage to be allies with those types of people.

"Yes…We chitchatted about her for a while. Like, about that little _incident_." Crona stiffened. What was he going to say? Was Dr. Stein going to scold him about not protecting Mary? Was he going to talk about the fact that they were going to place her in the NOT class?

"We went over a few things, and we came to an agreement. Crona, you are the only one in this school who's an expert on black blood. You yourself have it. We thought it over, and we need you to train her to control her black blood."

"Y-Yeah…Mary actually asked me to do just that…when we were on our mission…"

This caught Stein's attention. "Hmm… Really now?" So the young CMPC member was one step ahead, eh? _I guess she isn't so pathetic after all. She might actually have a chance…_ "So you'll do it then? You'll train her? If it's too much to ask—"

"No, no!" Crona abruptly interrupted. Stein stopped his chair, and stared. Crona stopped as well, and blushed when he realized what he just did. "I mean…" he coughed twice, attempting to clear away the vulnerability and embarrassment from his voice. "I-I'll do it, Dr. Stein."

Stein smiled, and decided to break the tension by teasing Crona. He looked ahead and cocked his head to the side, seeming indifferent. "So, I hear that you like Ms. Roman?"

It took Crona two seconds to figure out who Stein was referring to. After all, no one but the teachers (and occasionally Ox) addressed Mary be her last name. The latter, herself, would look around the room and wonder who the teacher was calling. Probably forgetting she even _had _a last name in the progress.

"W-W-W-W-What? Oh! N-No! Of course not! I-I mean yes! I mean no! I mean…uh…"

Stein laughed, with a hint of sadism. "Well, I hope you know what you're getting into!"

Oh…bad choice of words there.

Crona blinked. His cheeks were still bright red. "What do you mean?"

Stein mentally cursed. Why had he said that? He should've been keeping his guard up. There was no need to use that sentence. But, thankfully, it was easy to change the meaning. "Well you know, women can sometimes be a little difficult. And, since you have no dating experience," Crona flinched, "you have to be careful when you get out there." Whew. He did it. He got away with it. Crona wouldn't know the difference! Though…he hoped that Crona wouldn't go blabbing to Marie…if Marie found out…. Ouch.

But Crona wasn't stupid. Franken Stein wasn't a stranger to him. Crona was well aware of Stein's personality and gimmicks. He wasn't fooled. He had meant something else by that. But what? _Well, I hope you know what you're getting into! _Was he suggesting that…Mary is…dangerous?

"Crona?" Stein asked, with his head cocked to the side.

"Huh?" Crona looked up from the floor and stared at Stein. "Oh! Um…sorry…" He suddenly remembered Dr. Stein's cover-up. "Y-Yeah…I see what you mean…." He dipped his head low again. Focusing on the floor, or rather, Stein's favorite chair.

Stein's eyebrows furrowed. Of course Crona wouldn't fall for that. Damn it.

"Crona…" Stein called again for his attention.

"Yes?"

They were so close; it seemed as if they were both in the same bubble. The hallway was quite. No one seemed to be near, and if they were, they were being quite about their presence. The silence was loud. Crona badly wanted to Stein to continue on whatever he was going to say. So train Mary and what…? Come to think of it…_why?_

"Dr. Stein…?"

"Yes, Crona?"

"Why do you want Mary to get control of her black blood? It could be dangerous…"

"Hm," was all Stein said. The young swordsman had raised a valid point. But still… "Mary has a small grip on reality, Crona," Stein began; already it sounded as if Crona was a student being lectured about a particular subject at school. "She's already lost herself to the madness twice. Not only is that not normal, but it is also highly dangerous. When we're dealing with a student who is easily tempted, we make it our mission to strengthen them. You understand right?"

"Yes. But…black blood…it _has _madness, it invites it!"This made no sense! Surely Lord Death and Stein would already know this? So why weren't they thinking of alternatives? There were other ways to do this. "If Mary is what you say…then wouldn't it make more sense that she _doesn't _activate the black blood? If she does the madness will only spread and strengthen!" It was odd. Just a few minutes ago Crona was agreeing to the training, but now he was suddenly against it. Assuming he wasn't paying attention to the consequences…but more to the fact that he would be spending time with the redhead could be why he had suddenly switched sides. He had realized that this was wrong.

"Crona."

Crona immediately stopped breathing. The way Stein spoke his name…a tired voice, a voice that could cut through ice, a voice that was filled with threats.

"I understand where you're coming from." Stein took a deep breath. This conversation couldn't turn into an argument. As a DWMA student Crona has to be done what he is told. "This school strengthens meisters and weapons, right?"

"Yes." Crona felt miserable. He felt embarrassed. He felt as if he were a three-year-old who had just gotten in trouble for his intolerable tone.

"Mary has shown to have an extremely bad memory, which is why she is failing most of her tests and classes. That right there is an academic problem. Second, she doesn't seem to be physical-inept either, even when a Shinigami like Death the Kid is training her. _That _is just embarrassing. And third, she hasn't been able to use her clan's powers to her advantage. We don't blame her for this," Stein quickly said before Crona could interrupt, "which is why it is best for her to use the only other thing she had. Which is to say: the black blood.

"We want you to help, Crona. Do you want Mary to be downgraded? Do you want her to be expelled?"

"No…"

"Then, will you help?"

"…Yes."

"Good," Stein smiled. "You see, it isn't going to be so bad, now is it? You'll spend time with her, you'll bond and whatnot."

"Is that all?" Crona voice cracked. He just wanted to run to his room and cry. He didn't want to stick around any longer.

"One more thing, if you don't mind…How exactly did she get her black blood?"

Again, the silence was audible. It rang in Crona's ears, which only upset him more. He was close to breaking, to snapping, to crying. "I don't know. I have a theory though…"

"And what would that theory be?"

Crona breathed out that one, dreaded name. The name that belonged to the woman who he hoped never to see again. The snake witch. Satan's Mistress. "Medusa."

* * *

**Author's Note: **DONE! YES.

Hero: You sound happy.

Thank you for wasting your oxygen to say something like that.

Hero: -_-

Anyways! The next chapter will be about their black blood training, I promise! I just had to put this because last chapter said so.

So, Crona's gonna be all like, "Hey, you suck, so let me help you control what could possible lead your death! :D "

And Death the Kid is gonna be all like, "Hey, I'm going to train you even _harder._ :D_"_

And then Arachne's gonna be all like, "Hey, it's time for you to stop being a moron and get to studying! :D"

And Mary's gonna be all like, " X_X "

And her funeral's gonna be all like, "Oh noes! …Eh, we barely knew her, let's go get pizza!"

Hero: You're mean!

And you're insignificant to the Soul Eater plot! But you don't see _me _complaining!

Hero: The fu…?

I AM SO EXCITED, MAN.

Hero: Why?

Because, I'm finally getting to the black blood training! And after that, it's another mission, then after that it's the important chapter. Then after that…oh my god.

Hero: Stop spoiling everything.

I'm not!

Hero: Bye everyone! We'll hopefully see you next time!

Thanks for reading! :) You guys are the best!


	30. Sorry

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Soul Eater. I do own the OC's though…

* * *

The air swept by, shaking the infinite leaves on the trees surrounding us. The grass swayed at our feet. The sun was laughing like always, enjoying its run on the sky before the snickering moon took over. It was incredibly peaceful. Just to lie down by a tree, and let the wind make you comfortable.

Except…

My annoying hair. It's so friggin' long! Every time the wind could pick up its speed, my hair would come up to my face and get in my eyes and mouth. That was an incredibly unattractive sight. If I were alone then it would be fine. But of course, Crona had to be with me. He's around, only a few feet away, observing how I struggle with this hell on my head.

Black Star. You could say he was our annoying, obnoxious, loud next door neighbor. Tsubaki's cries of enthusiasm for Black Star's training were audible. And Black Star's "Yahoo's" and shrieks of him "surpassing God" where deafening, which only made me uncomfortable and annoyed. Every few minutes, I would hear the earth shaking, and Black Star's "Yahoo!". I am tempted to go over there and…I dunno, _yell _or something.

But it wasn't only Black Star. Crona had picked a bad day to teach me how to control my black blood. There were students all around, training with their weapons. Some were new, you could tell by their sounds of annoyance, and the antagonism towards their newly-found weapon partner. Others were older, experienced, but because they're training in the forest grounds it means that they want to unlock a new move. So, sounds of exasperation and frustration weren't odd to hear either.

How Crona's going to train me, is beyond me.

"M-Mary," Crona called out.

"Yeah?"

"Are you ready to begin your training?" he asked, uneasy and unsure.

"No. I mean, yes!" Where did that no come from? Ugh, retard mode, initiated.

He nodded slowly and stared at the ground. "W-Well…um…do you have any questions?"

That sounds like something a teacher would say at the end of a lesson. "Any questions about what?"

Crona kicked at the moving grass with his foot, softly. "A-About the b-black blood…"

He's not making eye contact. What does this mean?! Why isn't he comfortable? Why am I so bad at understanding human beings?! _Get a hold of yourself!_

"Um…how exactly do I learn to _use _the black blood?" That's a good enough question.

"Uh…well—"

"Mary!" Oh, unicorn pants. I recognize that voice from anywhere.

"Kid?!" I turn around and sure enough, there he is: Death the Kid, wearing his symmetrical Karate costume, with a bag on the other hand.

He stops running when he gets near. He's slightly gasping for breath, which is a shock, because I've never seen him gasp for breath. Nothing seems to tire him… "What are you doing here?" he asks, slightly frowning.

"What do you mean? Today Crona is going to teach me something." I should really be more specific. Damn you, hormones!

"No. We agreed that today we were going to train," he said, in a matter-of-fact manner. "I brought the new tools we need," he set the bag down and began to open it.

"Wait! No! What? I'm confused. I thought we agreed to train tomorrow." Or was it next week on Wednesday? Hm…

"No, we agreed on today's date," Kid said again, dismissing. After rummaging through his bag he got up and noticed Crona for the first time. "Ah, Crona! What brings you here?"

I sweat-drop. How could he have missed Crona? Wasn't he paying attention to the background?

"Hey!" Oh, yay, this day just keeps getting better and better. "What about me?! How come it's always, 'Crona', huh?! Did you morons forget about, me, Ragnarok?!"

"Hello, Ragnarok," Kid greeted, nonchalantly. "Sorry for not noticing your presence. Crona, what brings you here?"

Did he not hear me when I told him that today Crona was going to train me!

"Oh!" Crona had been gripping at his shoulder furiously. There was also a slight lip-biting. "L-Like Mary said…I was going to train her…today."

Yay! So I was heard!

Kid raised an eyebrow. "Really now?" He glanced over at me. "I didn't know."

"Didn't you hear me when I said that Crona was training me?!"

He laughed, wholeheartedly. "Oh! You did? Sorry, I didn't quite hear you!" He rubs the back of his head with his hand.

"H-How…?" I mouth to no one in particular.

He suddenly claps his hands. "Well! So we've come across a predicament!"

"Yes we have. But it's very easy to solve."

"How so, Mary?"

"Well. Today is Crona's day to train me to use the black blood. So you can go back home and do…whatever you do…"

He takes a hand to his chin and looks down. "Or…because I've devoted my whole day to this training…" Kid takes a step the right and looks directly at Crona. "Hey Crona! Do you mind if we take turns on training Mary?" My face immediately bursts into flames, in both embarrassment and anger. What does he think I am, some sort of toy?! But…the way he worded that…Oh hormones.

I look over at Crona. His eyes widen. But he doesn't blush, instead he looks down again, and his eyebrows furrow together. Tough choice?

"I-I guess…" he says after a while.

"Oh c'mon Crona!" Ragnarok suddenly screeches. "You're such a push-over! You're just gonna let this guy cock-block you like that?!"

"Uh…" is all I hear from Kid.

"RAGNAROK!" Crona's face is now very red. Glad to know I'm not the only one. "D-D-Don't be rude to Kid!" Wait, what? "A-A-And don't say things like that!" he adds, for some reason tugging his robe down with shaky hands.

"Hm…" Kid is suddenly peering at my face. His hand is still at his chin, and he's looking from Crona to me. "Mmm…"

"What are you doing?" I ask, glad that Kid is changing the topic with his weirdness.

He doesn't respond right away. He just turns his head multiple times from me to Crona and back and forth. Finally he nods his head twice in a business-like-manner. "You two have black blood, correct?"

"Yes."

"Yeah?"

"Then why do your faces turn red when you blush? Shouldn't they turn black or some other type of hue?"

I turn to look at Crona with a blank face. His face is still red with Ragnarok's last comment, but he also meets my gaze. He quickly looks back at the ground, though.

Why is he avoided eye-contact?!

I turn back to Kid. "I have…no idea."

"Well," Kid started after a minute of painful silence. "Crona?" The one who was called looked up from the floor. "Does the 'black blood training' take long?" I hope it does. The more time I spend with Crona, and the less time I spend with Kid, the better.

"N-Not really…" Crona said in a hushed tone. If the wind had been sweeping right now, we probably might've not heard him. Except maybe for Kid, because I'm sure a Death God would have incredible hearing.

"Really?" I didn't mean to sound so whiny. But I did anyways. That is rude, ma'am.

Kid smirked. "Well, Mary," he turned his head to me. "You sound disappointed."

I take a breath of air before I continue, "You know, I kinda agree with Ragnarok now."

"Thank you!" Ragnarok yells as he throws his hands in the air like he just doesn't care. In a chair…

Bubbles.

Monkey's.

Giraffe's.

Atlanta.

Bigfoot.

Guitars.

Milkshakes.

"Mary!"

"Huh? What?" I jump when I realize that Crona is right in my face. "What, whee."

"S-Sorry…" Crona mumbled as he stares at the ground. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"N-No! It's fine! Startle me all you want!" Wow! That sounded baaaaad.

In return, Ragnarok snickers.

I look around for Kid, just to find him leaning on a tree, with his iDeath in his hand, and a pair of headphones with Lord Death's symbol on each side. He's staring at us…blankly…it's kinda creepy.

"Kid's allowed me to go first," Crona informs with a slight smile. He quickly blushes and looks down.

Wow! So I can't stare at him for a full minute without him looking down?

"L-Let's go over here and sit down, okay?" He turns his back towards me and walks a few feet away. I silently follow him, looking at the ground the whole way.

Why does he refuse to look at me? Did I do something wrong? Did he get in trouble for something? Ugh, what happened last time…? …Come to think of it…what even caused me to end _up _in the Dispensary?!

Ok, Mary, relax. Maybe it's something simple. Like your face. Wow, that took a blow to my self-esteem.

My hands came up to my face and started feeling around. Maybe I have something in my face? No. Maybe I have something in my teeth? My iDeath camera has confirmed a no. Maybe it's—

"Ooph!" I suddenly hit something hard. I don't re-bounce though…But I don't want to know what I've hit. If I hit a tree…I swear I'll—

But trees don't have hands. Two hands grabbed by shoulders and pulled me away. Crona's (beautiful, angel-like, glorious, o—) face shows up from above, his eyebrows are pulled together in worry. "Mary, are you okay?" Stop shaking knees!

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," my voice, sounds like a rusty machine from the 1900's.

He hesitates before he lets me go. And I fall on my knees. "Ooph!" Again.

"S-Sorry!" Crona plants his knees on the ground and hovers. "I thought you were okay…"

"I am, don't worry. I'm just," I take my hand to my face and pinch the bridge of my nose. Ow! I shouldn't have done that.

* * *

We are both cross-legged and sitting in front of each other. The suspense is killing me. "C'mon Crona, tell me how to use the black blood already!"

He opens his eyes in surprise. My surprise is that they're black now. Hm…that's…_different. _"A-Alright… Sorry to keep you waiting."

Wait…did I say that out loud!? No! Must. Fix. Mistake. Before. He. Changes. The. Topic. "Sorry Crona. I wasn't supposed to say that out loud." Oh great! _That _didn't help! Now he knows that you were _thinking _it! "I mean! You know…I…"

For some reason, he smiles. "I'm glad that I'm not the only one nervous." He searched my face unsurely, as if he was taking a risk. _Was _I nervous?

"Yeah," I smile. "I am nervous. I mean…I don't know if this training'll be physical, like Kid's training—"

"Oh no! I mean—sorry for interrupting!"

"No it's fine. Go on."

"W-Well…Medusa put it, like you can control it at will. I mean…like a muscle!"

I just nodded.

"And…um…well…" Josh…he _is _nervous. I wonder if there's anything I can do…

"Hey, Crona?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Don't be nervous, okay? Everything'll be fine. Just relax and tell me how it is."

"I…I…" Uh-oh.

Crona's eyes turned grey. They trembled as he looked at anything but me. They glanced around and the various trees around us, he looked up at the ground, sky, left, right. "I-I…I have to go to the bathroom!" He shot up and loudly announced.

What. "Um…okay…Go on then, I'll—"

Crona dashed away.

* * *

"Go!"

I gripped the handle again and ran. I had made two steps when I fell back to the floor. "Ow!" I shrieked for the hundredth time.

Kid sighed from behind me. "Maybe this isn't going to work."

I grimaced and looked up at his upside down face. "You think?!"

"Here, give it to me," Kid crouched down and held out his hands.

I tried to lift up the stick with the two brass balls hanging on each side, but failed miserably. "You take it. I can't lift these up anymore," I say, my tone bitter from all the intense practice I had to go through after Crona ran away. I told Kid to go after him, but nooooo~, he didn't want to _upset _or _disturb _Crona's relief.

Without a word, Kid took the torture weapon as if it were a skinny wooden stick. "Ugh, I don't know how you can carry that thing," I complain as I get up.

"It's simple really. If you had the strength to do it, that is…" His eyes narrowed.

"Can you go check on Crona, _now?_" I ask with desperation. I _really _don't want to do this training. Kid was not kidding when he said that there would be no mercy.

"Hm…" You know, I'm starting to get the feeling that Kid is just doing this to annoy me. With one look at my face he breaks into a smile and laughs. "Ok, ok, I'll go look for Crona. But while I'm gone I expect you to do 100 pushups."

I grumble as I go down to the floor and start the pushups. The first time Kid told asked me to do 100 pushups, I laughed. Thinking that there was no way that he could be serious. But he was. He actually wanted me to lift my body up with my two poor-excuse-of hands. I ended up doing two pushups before I collapsed on the floor. And all Kid responded with was, "Tsk. Tsk."

I ended up doing 40 pushups before Kid arrived with a glum expression. Kid looked at me, and immediately asked, "Have you done 100?"

"Um…" I blink. "No."

"Well…then continue."

"But Crona—!"

"I'll tell you now." He sets himself next to me and, surprisingly, puts himself in the same position to do pushups. He smiles tenderly, like he did back at the Dispensary. "I'll explain, don't worry."

"And people say _I'm _bipolar," I comment as I go down again.

Kid laughs and we both do a couple of pushups before he begins to explain. "Crona is fine. I had a little talk with him…but I couldn't convince him to come back."

"Why not? Is something wrong with him?"

"Pushups," Kid reminds me.

I scowl at him while I try to come back up. "Amazing," Kid starts saying with his eyes closed. "I've trained you for about two months and you can't even do 100 pushups."

"Hey!"

"Hey, what's up? How's it going dawg?"

I lose my grip on the grass and fall down, laughing like a maniac.

"What's so funny?"

"'How's it going dawg'?! Kid, where did _that _come from!?" That's the funniest thing I've ever heard!

"I was trying to sound more modern," he replied with a small smile.

"Well, don't. You're great just the way you are." That's why your fangirls want to steal you away and keep you in their closet.

"Whew. Glad to know you don't hate me."

"What."

"You don't hate me…right?"

"No! Of course not! Who told you that?!" I sit up rigidly from the unexpected comment.

"You."

"_Me?" _Oh no! What did I say _now?_

"Yes you. Well…I _assume _anyway. The way you respond to anything I say. And the fact that we can't get along—not even when we're not training," Kid confesses as he continues doing his pushups.

Ah, I see. I roll myself over so that my stomach is flat on the ground. I sprawl my hands in front of me, and relax from the pushups. "I get where you're coming from. I seem to do that a lot. I dislike one thing about a person and I treat them horribly. Like with Hero, when I first hung out with him, he annoyed me, so I treated him like crap. Now…because I hate your training…it seems like I hate you. But trust me! I don't! You're a nice guy Kid. And if I could actually stop hating the nice act you're doing for me, we could actual talk like normal friends in public."

Kid had stopped doing his pushup midway. He simply stared at me with a blank expression. I couldn't help but look away. My eyes will start to water otherwise.

Suddenly something heavy falls on me, and I'm pushed harder on the grass. "Ow…"

"Sorry, I meant that in a 'playful' manner."

"What?" I try to move my head but I can't. "Kid, is that you?"

"Yeah!"

"Please get off me. I can't move." Josh, it feels like a tree trunk fell on me.

"Sorry." Kid removed himself from where he fell, my back.

I got up to my knees, hoping that he wouldn't call attention to the pushups, and rubbed my elbow. "What was that all about?"

He shrugged. "Isn't that what friends do?"

"Uh…" I want to say no, but then again… "I wouldn't really know," I shrug to pass myself as indifferent. But I could feel tears wanting to escape.

Thankfully Kid doesn't press any further. "Hm…well Patty does this to others all the time."

I sweat-drop. "Well, Patty has a violent way of showing affection."

After a while of touching my elbow I look over at Kid. He's smirking again, there's amusement in his eyes as well. "What?" He doesn't respond, he simply tugs at the grass below. "What's so funny?" I try again.

"It's true," he murmurs, still not looking at me.

"Huh?"

"I didn't think you'd be so easy Mary."

Why does my brain interpret words so perversely?! "What are you talking about?"

"Not only was it simple to change the important topic at hand, but your memory can be someone's ally or someone's enemy!"

"Again: what?"

"We were going to talk about Crona, correct?"

Suddenly something clicks in my head. "Oho~ Yeah~! I forgot!"

"Of course you did. You always forget things," he shakes his head as if in shame.

I frown. "Well this is _your _fault then!"

"Wha—? How?"

"You changed the topic!" I accuse while pointing a finger.

"Well, technically, if you would've remembered, then you could've easily changed the topic back," he pointed out with a finger.

"B-Be quite!"

"Exactly, I win."

"No you don't!"

"Huh, I didn't know you were a sore loser…"

"I'm not! It's just that you didn't win." I snap my head away. But I look back when I hear some scribbling.

Kid is scribbling words on a notepad. "Mary…is…a…sore…loser…."

"'Am not!"

He looks back up for a brief second before looking back down at his notepad and scribbling some more. "Mary…is…in…denial…"

"Agh!" I take my head with both hands and throw myself back.

"Mary…has…a…temper…problem…"

* * *

"Ok, ok, I'll tell you! Please, just put it back on your arm, please!" Kid pleads, on his knees, with his hands together.

I do as he says and put my fingerless-sleeve back on my right arm. Ah Kid, you're weak point is weird.

Kid starts grumbling as he stands up. "That was very mean of you, Mary."

"Well, you should've told me about Crona like I asked, instead of writing in the stupid little notepad of yours."

He coughed twice, professionally. "Well, how do I begin? Basically, in a nut shell, in a _taco _shell—"

"_Kiiiiiiid…_"

"Sorry. Anyways, Crona doesn't want to teach you how to control your black blood."

I blink. "Why?" I couldn't help but want to cry over that. Is it because I smell?

"Because the black blood has madness in it, and you've lost yourself to madness _twice. _So imagine letting you control something that could make your condition worse." Oh thank Josh it's not the smell!

"But…wouldn't it help me _get control _of the madness?" Hopefully my logic works…

"What do you mean? The black blood has madness in it; the point of activating it is so that the madness takes control of you…" Kid informed with a raised eyebrow.

"Really? Hm…I didn't get the memo." I don't remember anything concerning madness and black blood in the same sentence.

Kid sighed. "You probably _did, _but you just don't remember. Honestly, I'm beginning to think that you need an assistant to inform you on everything you might've forgotten."

"That actually sounds like a good idea. But I don't have the money for that."

"Where does the money that DWMA gives you go?"

"To pay for the food, and rent, and clothes, and other stuff." I shrug, not really caring on what my money is spent on.

"Aah…"

"Crona!"

Kid visibly jumps. "What?"

"Crona, Crona, Crona! We need to discuss Crona!"

"We…just did, Mary," Kid sighs again, tired this time.

"We did?" But… "No—I mean, I know about the black blood, but why did he run?"

"…Because he was nervous. Like I said, he didn't want to teach you how to control your black blood. He thinks that if he does, he'll just be digging your grave."

That's pleasant. "But…if he _doesn't, _then what's left of me? I mean…my grades are horrible. And, no offense to you, I'm hopeless when it comes to training."

"That's because you're lazy!" Kid snaps at me.

And I can't help what comes out of my mouth. "_I'm _lazy?! I'm sorry, but I try my best to remember things for those tests! I try my hardest with the time I'm training with you as well!"

"Oh please. Do you honestly want me to believe that after you get home from my training, you go somewhere private to review all I've taught you?"

"N-No…but—!"

"But nothing! That's your problem! You don't set your heart into things! If you review and train _after _our training then I promise that you will improve!"

"I can't, okay!? When I go home I still have to do my homework! When I go home, I have to clean up the house because Adriana's too friggin' lazy to do it! When I go home, I have to cook dinner because no one else knows how to! When I go home—"

"Stop crying." I stop breathing when I realize that Kid…is hugging me. "I get it. Life outside of school is tough. When…when you're parents are not around…" His hug tightens. "You have to be the head of the house, do things by yourself. Sometimes the people you live with don't know how to do some things; sometimes they have their own business. I know, trust me….And I'm sorry. I shouldn't be so harsh on you…I just…it's because…" He sighs and releases me, he looks at me intensely. "You're my first student. And I've had fun," the intense glare softens. "Training you is unimaginably infuriating, but it's worth it, because—even though you may seem like a lost cause—at the end, I _will _succeed. And I'll be able to tell anyone who doubted us, 'I did it. I trained Mary Roman to her best'. I know I'll be able to say those words one day. And that's why I have to be rough with you. Sorry. We're both new at this, I assume? We'll just have to work through it together."

He released his grip on me and took out a hand. "So what do you say?" I stare at his pale hand, waiting for it to return to his sides. But it never does.

"Friends?"

* * *

I run towards Crona stiff form. Kid told me where I could find him. On an edge that has a great view of Death City.

"Can I sit with you?"

Crona jumps when he hears my voice. He looks up at me and suddenly shoots up. "Mary! I'm sorry for running away! I was just nervous! I—!"

"It's okay Crona," I say, putting one hand forward. "Kid told me everything. I understand."

His visible relaxes, and his breathing slows. "I have to thank Kid for that…Oh! And thanks to you too! F-For understanding!"

I can't help but laugh. He's so cute! "It's fine!" My mood suddenly changes, and my tone turns cold. "Listen Crona, I understand where you're coming from. I know you're worried that the black blood might harm me, might make my…" How did Kid put it? "…_condition _worse. But I _need _to learn how to use the black blood. It'll help me out in the long run. Please!"

"I-I don't know…"

"C'mon…please? It's the only thing I have left."

Crona looks up at me, his eyes now purple. This time he openly looks at me without looking away. Determination is fixated on his face. "Alright Mary. I promised Dr. Stein I'd do it anyways…"

I smile and hug him tightly. "Thank you so much Crona! Don't worry, I'll be fine!" I pull myself away and look up at him. "Plus we'll get to spend time with each other. And we can be BBF's. Black-Blooded-Friends."

Crona shyly smiles at my stupid comment and blushes when he looks at the hands that are gripping his arms. "Yeah…we'll be friends…"

And he pulls me in a tightening hug.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Aww, I am such a liar!

Hero: *on the floor, doing some weird dance*

I'm sorry! I didn't mean for this chapter to go in _this _direction! It's because I don't _know _how the black blood training would be like, so I made Crona run away because he can't deal with letting Mary learn to control her black blood. But hey! If you ask me, it works out fine!

Hero: How can you do this to me?! Kid and Mary…Really?!

Calm yourself Hero. Kid and Mary aren't romantically involved, that's not my intention. They are friends, yay! Friendship! :D

Hero: *grumbling* What about Crona?

Oho~!

Hero: Oh no…

But I'm sorry! To my readers! I know you were expecting black blood training but you got this poor-excuse-of-a-chapter! Sorry! T_T

Hero: Um…calm yourself.

But yeah, next chapter Mary'll know how to control the black blood. Sorry. I can't/don't know how it'll be like. And even as I was thinking about it, I couldn't come up with anything.

Also, sorry this is up so late. I was working on it THE WHOLE DAY! X_X And yet it is still horrible! (Curse my sucky writing skills)

So, if there are any grammar mistakes, I am sorry. But I'm tired, and I won't be rereading this thing again.

Hero: Lazy~

Shut up~ You try writing…*checks the number of pages* FIFTEEN PAGES?! *explodes*

Hero: Ew…

*reforms* I made this long so it would please you guys. Since most of my chapters are short. I think, I dunno.

And again, sorry! But this is the 30th chapter :D Thanks to my readers for keeping up with this story for so long! And the plot hasn't even arrived! Slow Fanfiction for the win!

But at least Mary and Kid will be friends now! :D That's always a good thing, right? Even though, Mary and Crona should increase their relationship level…

I am a disgrace to writer's everywhere T_T I couldn't even keep a promise about the black blood training.

Hero: Well…you showed…part of it.

Ahhhh—

Hero: Thank you all for reading, and for putting up with this crazy person for over _30 _chapters. Pat yourself on the back for that accomplishment. The Black Joker appreciates all reviews, follows, favorites, and all that good stuff. I mean, who doesn't?!

I am a disgrace…

Hero: Wow. Never thought you'd have a Death-the-Kid moment.


	31. Where Everything Pays Off

**Author's Note:** Let me begin with an apology: I am sorry for making you guys wait six weeks (I believe at least) for an update. Since I usually update on Saturday's and or Sunday's of every week, it must've been a surprised not to see an update. Now one week of absence isn't so bad…but SIX is unforgivable! And for that, I am sorry :(

My Saturday was ruined with a family problem, and so was the Saturday after that. And for the rest of the weeks I was too busy with homework. But I hope that this long chapter makes people happy.

Again, sorry.

I have to thank Sonia, for reviewing on the last chapter. I greatly appreciate it :D And thank you, Autumn Leaf Ninja, for always reviewing on every chapter :) Not to mention the witty review made by Dragon Yin and Yang, who contradicted my very words! XD

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Soul Eater. Only my OC's.

So without further adieu, here's the next chapter! :)

* * *

The last thing I needed before my refreshing weekend was a joint mission. Since, I had spent the last two weeks studying, controlling, and training my ever living _butt _off.

It turns out that Arachne was dead serious when she told me that she was going to help me study, back at the Dispensary. Of course I had forgotten as soon as she left the room. But I was rudely reminded again when she dropped a stack of textbooks that she had gotten from the library, on the table that's in front of the sofa. I was pissed because the mountain of stupid, dusty books was blocking my view of _The Big Bang Theory. _I ignored her but then she turned off the TV. After a battle of controller and the buttons on the television set, she simply unplugged the TV's cable, walked over to the front of the table, and crossed her arms over her chest, meaning business. I tried to avoid the painful learning that she was going to force me to do, but…sadly I don't live in a big apartment.

But studying with Arachne's help turned to be the best "training" I had every endured! Though the way she taught me as if I were a three-year-old was insanely insulting, it proved to be extremely beneficial. I actually understood what she was teaching me. And with her 800 years of living she probably had a firm grasp on being patient. But my memory was the main problem. And I almost asked Adriana to slap me across the face when she came up with a simple solution: study from the beginning that you know the test is coming up, to the day before the test. Then, because I would probably forget everything, she advised me to go over everything as soon as I wake up. And because I wake up abnormally early for no apparent reason, I had a lot of time to go over everything.

And it helped. I honestly felt refreshed when I looked over the material again. And when I took the test, I got a C! Sure, that may sound bad, but in my standards, it's a pretty good grade. I sure am glad that Arachne didn't get mad when I showed it to her. I was surprised to know that she was actually happy about the grade….And then she "hugged" me, and of course by "hug" I mean attack the target and make their back ache from smacking with the floor.

Arachne was the only person I was looking forward to spending time with. Not because the other two were mean or anything of that sort—it's just because Arachne seems to actually _get _me. While the other two are just shooting randomly until they hit the bullseye.

Kid actually got _nicer. _I was shocked to see him smiling when I entered his Dojo. But then my emotion changed from shock to confusion when he started explaining _meditation _and _yoga. _I came up with my own conclusion: he wants to be nicer; therefore he is going to let me relax and do nothing… Ohohohohohohohohohoho~! How wrong was I! While those two things are about relaxing they are also about becoming flexible. Apparently Kid believes that all that studying and with the black blood training, I am becoming stressed (I also apparently have visible strands of grey hair. Hurray~). What he _doesn't _know is that Arachne and Crona's classes aren't causing me stress, it's his! AUGH! Anywho, that's all Kid's been teaching me for the past weeks. While at first he took things slow, he became back to his old, tough self when I started making mistakes. And the biggest mistakes and tantrums by Kid were when I became unsymmetrical…

And last, but definitely the best, Crona. Oh Crona, how cute you are when you look frustrated, when you're unsure, and when you're giving me the "Really?" expression. Yes, I have gotten to spend more time with the pink-haired meister, and I am very pleased to say that he has gotten to know my stupidity very well. While the black blood training was at first confusing and vague it got better when I completed the first trail, which was _activating _the black blood in order to be able to _use _it. I am now able to control the black blood! But then came a problem…I apparently have to _cut myself _in order to manipulate the blood, just because I don't have a weapon partner made out of my own blood like Ragnarok. But you see—I am not going to do that. Because I _refuse _to cut myself! It makes me flinch and shiver, and I don't want to see blood in the first place—not anyone's and not mines!

So that was Crona's second obstacle: to get me to cut myself. After numerous attempts and persuasions he gave up and decided it would be best for me to control his blood. I had to look away when he made the slice.

It came to the point where I could only perform one technique. That being: Bloody Needle. A basic technique, as Crona describes it. Basically it can only be used when there is black blood spilled on the floor. It has to be hardened and they must take the shapes of needles, they also need to be long enough to pierce an opponent. I succeeded in my tenth try—Yay! And I wish I could've taken a picture of Crona's face when he saw those inky needles. He looked so proud. A first, I assume, since he's never had a student before.

It was all happy and good-natured, until he told me that the next thing would be Bloody Slicer, another fairly easy technique that is very useful in close-combat. But I have to cut myself. And like I said before, I am not doing that. Crona still taught me how to use it, just in case someone managed to cut me in battle.

Because of my fear of cutting my own skin with a sharp object, Crona had to explain how to keep the body hard, so cutting attacks or crushing attacks wouldn't…kill me. So far, that is what he's teaching me. It's been some good weeks, sometimes, after the training is over, he walks me home, and we have time to freely chatter, and because we have something to start a conversation with it is very easy now. And I am very pleased that we're able to bury the black blood topic quickly and openly talk about other subjects. Like last week we somehow got into a conversation about banana's…

"_Now it's four people with blonde hair, thanks to Adriana."_

_Crona's stomach made a loud grumble. "I-I'm sorry!"_

"_No Crona, don't apologize. You can't control whether your stomach grumbles or not. It's not your fault."_

_His lips turned down in an upset matter, his cheeks were still burning with embarrassment. "I haven't eaten anything…"_

"_Hey! You can have a snack at my house, if you'd like!"_

"_That'd be nice…like a banana…"_

"_?"_

_He stopped looking at the ground and snapped his head up. "Huh?! Oh sorry! Um…wow…that sounded weird…"_

"_Yes, yes it did." I reply, nonchalant, "Craving banana's, eh, Crona?"_

"_Well…" He turned his head to look at me. "It's just that we were talking about blonde hair. And bananas are yellow…"_

"_Hm…" I put a finger on my chin. "I see how you can change the topic like that."_

"_Oooh~! So hungry…"_

"_They are riddled with potassium!"_

_He simply nodded. "Did you know they're radioactive?"_

_Radioactive bananas!? "No…heheh…not at all!"_

"_They are…I hate sunburns."_

Okay, so maybe the banana topic didn't last long. But…there is something that has changed and I've noticed it. Crona is actually making direct eye-contact with me. That could actually mean that he is starting to become comfortable. It's becoming a habit for him to see me every day, so he is getting used to the fact of seeing my face, and making direct eye-contact! Yesss—Level up!

* * *

My mission partner turned out to be Maka along with Soul, which I'm pretty happy about! You see, Maka and Soul are out-of-our-league. They were in a higher level than Black Star and Tsubaki—and Death the Kid, Liz, and Patty who started out late. Only because of misunderstanding, did they lose their all the souls they collected. And Maka is the type to not want to fail a mission, taking everything seriously and all.

"Why are _you _so calm?" Adriana asked. First she was happy because we got out of taking a test, but now she's not minding her own business.

I decided to answer honestly. "'Cause this mission will be simple! After all, we're working with Maka."

"I don't get it…"

I stopped and turned to her. "You see, there's no way we'll fail this mission with Maka and Soul—they're way above our level! So, we won't have to do anything!"

"Wow. Lazy."

"'Am not!" Thanks for ruining my mood! "I'm just tired from yesterday! And now that I think about it, I'm kinda pissed too! I was going to take that test that I studied so hard for and—!" A teacher opened a classroom door and grimaced in our direction. She placed a finger on her lips meaning, 'Shut the hell up, we're taking a test here', or something. She then closed the door, hard. Poor door.

"Haha!" Adriana chimed in. "You got in trouble~!"

"Shut up!"

"No!" she yelled, defensively.

We simply stared at each other with hatred until Maka came in and ruined my fun. "Guys, c'mon we have to—" The same teacher popped her head out of the classroom door and made the same gesture, only to shut her door again.

I smiled. Yay, I'm not the only one in trouble now. "Don't worry, Maka, it—Maka?"

Maka's on the floor, mopping. "What happened to her?" Adriana asks, too close to me.

"Don't worry about it, she gets this way when she upsets a teacher," Soul replies, nonchalant. He bends down and gets a grip on Maka's arm. "C'mon Maka, remember the mission is for today."

"Mission?" I ask.

Adriana looks at me and sweat-drops for some reason. "Oh God, don't tell me you forgot already…" She then places a hand on her head.

Why is she face-palming herself?! "What? What did I do?"

"Do you remember the mission we have to do today, Mary?" Wow, Maka already got up! I bet it took her a second, unlike me who takes an hour.

I want to say yes, but then I'd be confused. But if I say no, then they're going to think I'm stupid. So I'm going to say yes. "Yeah, I know about the mission!" I confidently say, with a fist in the air.

"She's lying…" Adriana whispers to the group.

"Be quiet, Blondie!"

"Make me!"

Soul sighs. "This is not going to be a cool mission."

* * *

I want to ask what this mission is about _so bad. _I can't stand not knowing! Gaah, the curiosity is killing my face!

But I'm not going to ask, because it'll make me look stupid…even though I probably _do _already. Ah, I could feel my self-esteem hitting the ground. Yay…

"I wonder how he looks like," comments Adriana next to me. We're all riding in a taxicab, going to wherever.

"What he looks like?" Maybe if I'm sneaky enough, she'll reveal some details about the mission…

"Yeah," she stretches and almost sinks to the bottom of the car, just to grab my arm to pull herself up. She needs to fix those nails of hers… "I hope he's hot~!"

"Well, he's still young, seventeen—maybe," Maka shrugs. Hm…I still don't know who this guy is though. Meh.

"Maka, we should review the plan," Soul says. He's leaning on the cab's door, hands crossed against his chest, leaning 'coolly'.

"Why?" Adriana butts in and asks.

"Well, if we just get in there without knowing what we're doing," like I will, "then we'll end up getting in trouble and jeopardizing our chances."

"Oh~ Ok. So then what's the plan?"

Soul sits correctly now and leans in. "The plan is to get in there, remove the imposter, and get out." Thanks Soul! That clears it _all up!_

Maka leans in as well and nods in agreement. "Did you bring your party clothes?"

What? Party…clothes? I look over at Adriana just to see her reaching for her book bag and taking out a white dress! What?! "Yeah, I got the dress."

She didn't tell me anything about a party dress! What?!

Maka nods and turns to me. I flinch. Oh no. "Where's your dress, Mary?"

I brought _nothing _with me! No one told me that I had to bring stuff! "Uh…it's in my bag…in the trunk." Heh, I know for sure that Maka and Soul put their bags in the trunk, and I was the last one to get in, so they'll never know. Mwuhahahahaha!

"Oh alright."

"We'll just see it later then," Soul says, adjusting his back comfortably on his seat.

Nooooo~

I check on Adriana again just to see her eyes narrowed. I think she's known me long enough to suspect that I'm lying my face off.

* * *

Adriana knocks on the door five more times and whispers in a loud tone. "C'mon idiot, the shop is going to close soon! Just put on your freakin' dress already!"

You see, Adriana, I _would _put on my dress, if I _had _one. My plan was to buy one when I got here, but then my brain decided to realize that I had brought no money while I was in the store. I looked incredibly stupid when I reached my pockets for invisible money. And even if I _did _have money it wouldn't work here! Since Death City has its own type of money.

"_Come on!" _Adriana is already changed, but I forgot to nab myself a dress. When I got out of the store I thought about stealing…or, cough, _borrowing, _and forgetting to give it back. But with Adriana glued to my side, I couldn't steal anything. Maybe if I was with someone who wouldn't _mind _my theft of a dress and risk of jail.

"Calm your face!" I have to think fast! There are no dresses in a store's bathroom! Gaah! "Hey, you go on without me—I have a stomachache." The excuse is old but believable, since I ate a bunch of things to lower my stress.

"You see? I told you that you shouldn't eat so much!" Shut up! At least _I _don't believe lies!

Wait…

"Well, I'll just text you where you need to go, since you've probably forgotten. And I'll tell Maka and Soul about your stomachache." And by that she means that she's going to embarrass me and make them believe that I'm gluttonous.

"Yeah, yeah," I mutter. I place my ear on the door and wait until I hear footsteps fading. Now, all I have to do is wait until I know she's gone for good.

* * *

I'm running through dark streets in an unfamiliar town. Hurrah~!

I didn't get a dress, all the stores are dark and closed, and so I can't even _steal _a dress. I guess that's a good thing, because I'm pretty sure I would steal, but now that the doors are locked and I'm lazy, I won't be able to steal.

See? These are the times that life loves me.

I bend down and grab my knees so I can catch my breath. Come to think of it…Where am I even _going_?! I don't know where this "party" is! Hm…maybe Maka, Soul, and Adriana are all secretly aliens and they've come to this earth to confuse me so I'll fail this mission, then get kicked out of the school and become a hobo! Reeking of going through garbage cans everyday! Lacking hygiene! And Crona will never love me!

_I knew it! That _is _their plan!_

I run my hands through my sides as I get up, but quickly freeze when I notice something…my pocket…both of them…they lost weight.

Where's my phone?!

Oh dear toothbrushes, where's my phone!? I can't lose my phone! I have my illegally downloaded music in there!

After thoroughly checking my pants, I have come to two conclusions: I either lost my phone or left it at home. And I hope it's the latter.

These are the times when life hates me and wants to throw me in a pit of darkness.

If I had my phone I could call Adriana, but noooooo, I _had _to leave/lose it! Now I'm all alone, and I'm not comfortable. The wind is blowing against me, and it's surprisingly cold even though I'm wearing a jacket. This sucks! I have to get to civilization before I lose it… I'm already out of breath, and I'm starting to breathe heavily. It's just like that last time when I had to save that girl in the ice skating rings, breathing in that cold, bitter air again. But this time, it isn't because I need oxygen…I just need to be near people. I open my eyes. Seeing nothing but darkness isn't going to help my situation. There are no lights but the street lamps…I have to keep walking….

I can't describe how difficult this is. It's bad enough it is dark, but to not see or hear anything…_human, _is frightening. Josh, I don't care if it's a criminal, I don't care if it's a cat, I just don't want to be alone. Dammmmmn iiiiiit, why did Adriana leave me?! Oh wait. I put this on myself! Dang it! I thought there'd still be _people _out in the streets! Does this town/city/whatever have some kind of curfew?!

There's so much empty space for me. It's really unsettling. _Too much space…_I wish I could dump garbage everywhere, just to cover up every corner, every inch. I cannot take this anymore.

I break into a run without thinking of where I'm going. I end up closing my eyes, at least when I do that, I can picture a bunch of people in my head, and I hope I'll feel better. Even if my muscles are tired, seemingly inflated, I cannot stop. I have to keep going. But I ended up running right into a wall. I fall back when I hit the hard brick wall, my back hits the ground, but the only physical trace of the damage is the dust that the back of my white jacket has now. Oh great, now Arachne's gonna be…mad? I shrug and get back up. I grab my jacket and pull on it to get a better view. Now there's a huge brown mark on the back of my jacket. Well…I'm not wearing this now. I take my jacket off and immediately I regret it. It seems as if the cold air is going right to my _bones. _I take in two violent shivers and finish tying my jacket arms around my waist.

The thought process of Arachne and the stain on my jacket had kept my mind off of being completely alone. But now….

I can't help but take my right hand to my head. It's a method I've always used to take a grip on my thoughts. It helps. _I have to start filling my head with random or logical thoughts. If I don't…well, I'm apparently prone to madness. And fear seems to be a cause as well as anger. So…_

My feet take off and stomp on the ground hard. The more things distract me the better.

I immediately stop when I spot a figure in the distance. Without a thought, I run towards it.

Now that I'm close enough I could see that it's…a human! Yes, score! Though, I wouldn't have minded a cat. Like that, I could carry him/her around. I can't carry a human…not even a _baby_. Then again why would a baby be...? Who cares?! There is a guy and I'm going to pat his shoulder.

Pat.

He turns around and jumps when he sees me, and I do the exact same thing.

I don't know how I did not notice his clown costume. But I realize how I missed his green chainsaw. He isn't wearing any clown makeup, no weird eyeliner around his brown eyes, and no white power added to his forehead, where part of his black hair makes a cascade.

He is actually not ugly.

"What?"

What, what, bro? I love hearing another human voice after wandering alone in the darkness for over an hour! Okay maybe not an hour but it sure felt like a lot!

"I'm just glad to see another human being walking around!" I say in my best nice-voice. "Isn't it weird how the whole town seems to be asleep?"

The boy looks up at the lamppost. "Not really. This town has always been weird." He sighs and looks back at me. This guy is somewhat creepy with his monotonous expression. "What are you doing here? I'm sure I haven't seen you around."

"Oh! Um…I just got here…" I don't really know what else to say besides that.

"Are you moving in?"

"No."

"Good. This place is about to go to shit if that little kid gets away with his crime."

Wow! He cursed! "Little kid…?"

He shakes his head in distaste and again, looks back up at me with dull brown eyes. "Why did you run up to me? I'm holding a chainsaw, you know."

I shrugged. "I saw a humanoid figure, so I ran towards it."

This time he showed emotion. He raised an eyebrow! Now that's what _I _call process! "That's stupid. What if I was some sort of rapist?"

"Um…"

"Exactly. You are an idiot for running up to random strangers, especially ones who are holding real chainsaws." He seems to be trying to intimidate me…I don't understand.

"Why do _you _care what I do?" He's starting to piss me off, he doesn't know me. Oh, and he called me an idiot, he insulted me, I'm mad at him for that too. That word almost went unnoticed.

Again, he shrugs. He looks up at the light again; he seems to be judging it as if it were a clock. "Concerned about something?" I butt in and ask.

"Yes," he says, not looking back.

"Mind telling me what it is?"

"Yes."

"So…what is it?"

A small scoff escapes his lips. "You truly are a moron aren't you? Do you have any idea what the phrase 'do you mind' means?"

Well, I'm not talking to this asshole, but I'm not going to move away either. If I end up getting lost…I'll surely lose myself.

"Shit. She's late. I wonder what's taking her so long." It doesn't seem like he muttered that to himself. He actually said it pretty loud and clear.

He turns to look at me once again, his expression unchanged. "Oh. You're still here."

"No, shit." Hey, his habit of cursing is contagious!

Another scoff. This time, I can't help but lash out, "What's so funny, Clowny!"

Did I just seriously call him 'Clowny'?

"Well, Moony," what? "I'm just laughing at the fact of how insanely retarded you are."

I can't help but ask, "Moony?"

"Do you _own _a mirror? When you see yourself, look at your left eye."

Oh! He meant the crescent moon! Oh, wow, I'm dumb! Wait! No, I must not let him be right! "Yeah you're right…Why are you wearing a clown costume?"

"Why don't you mind your own business?"

It's strange. We both seem to be at odds with each other and yet we're not leaving. While he probably shouldn't move from his spot, there's also the fact that he hasn't told me to leave yet.

Before I could ask him something a car popped out of nowhere and stopped right in front of us. The right window was rolled down to reveal a black-haired, brown-eyed woman. "Seven, c'mon, it's time to go to the airport!" She then notices me. "Well, who's this young lady you've got with you, Seven?"

His name is Seven? Like the number? That's freakin' awesome! Why can't _I _have that name!

Oh, Death the Kid would freak out.

"Her name is Moony."

Oh, reeeal funny. "Actually, my name is Mary."

Seven's mom smiles kindly. "That's a nice name." I'm getting the feeling that she just wants her son to get in the car so she could escape this maddening town.

Clowny gets inside the passenger seat and puts on his seatbelt. But before they leave his mom asks me, "Would you like to a ride? I'll drive you to your house."

I accept the opportunity in a heartbeat. There's no way that I'm staying here alone.

* * *

There's a giant building…and it has lights! I am going inside and no one is going to stop me!

I thank Seven's mom and Seven for giving me the ride, but before I could even take a step.

"Hey, Moo—Mary." Son of a nice lady, he corrected himself just because of his mother. He exchanges a smile with his mother when she gave him the 'if you make fun of her one more time I'll smack you' look. "Take this. You'll need it." He passes his mom the chainsaw and I grab it. Huh, it's so light! And I know why! It's because of the black blood!

Once I wave goodbye I dash toward the door and turn the knob. HAHA. Suckers! The idiots who own this house don't lock their doors! I am clearly more smarticle-er than them!

As soon as I step inside I feel safer and saner. Different varieties of foods enter my nostrils and I take in the welcoming smell with a giant sniff. And that only sped up my dying process. Awesome. Not only the smell, but there's also loud party music, which clearly indicates that there are strangers who don't lock their doors to prevent other strangers from entering. I am totally going to steal something—I mean…I am not going to…eh, who am I kidding? It's time to rob! But not only the sound and smells, but I also made two new friends! These two tall, burly men wearing black suits and black sunglasses are standing right next to me. Totally not intimidating!

One side glance at each of them has told me something. I should run. Forever.

Before I could even take two steps one of the giants grabs the back of my jacket.

Oh no.

"Where do you think you're going, Miss?" one of them says with an impossibly deep voice. Great, now I'm going to hear that voice in my nightmares. Hurray.

"She's not even wearing formal clothes. Disrespectful." Well, I _tried _but the stores were probably locked! Unlike this house.

"What's your name?" The one who held my jacket sets me down and grabs a paper with a list of names.

Ooh! I saw a name! Yes!

He licks his pens' tip and asks again, "Your name?"

Oh cheese sticks…

I hate my life.

* * *

Running!

"Hey, get back here!"

"Someone stop that redheaded individual!"

I was _not _going to make up a name on the spot! Are you kidding me? If I failed then they would be all like, "Miss, your name does not exist in this list of epic people. If you would be so kind to…GET THE HELL OUT."

Not riskin' it! Running away from two security guards while a mass of people are dancing is the way to go! At least…that's what movies taught me. Or was that Rebecca? You know, I really don't remember or care. My lungs hurt.

Since the music is so deafening and everyone is randomly jumping up and down and hitting each other by colliding bodies, the security men cannot do anything! Mwuahahaha!

My sense of victory is quickly demolished when I bump into someone and fall on my butt. You'd think I'd pay attention when I'm being chased, but instead I constantly look behind me.

Oh why did this person _get in the way! _Now I have to get up! Ah!

"Mary, where are your party clothes?! And why were you running?!" Stop yelling, strange person!

The strange person has now been upgraded to a nice person because they held out their hand for me. So nice…Unlike me. Evil laugh because I am too lazy to actually laugh. I am proud of being stupidly not evil.

Oh! It's Adriana! I think…

"Adriana…?" I try my best not to make it sound like a question.

"No, it's—you know I can't even come up with a witty comeback. Answer my questions!" She looks pissed…and her eyes are not focusing on my epicness, so she probably lost something. Wow, maybe she's looking for my phone as well!

"And what were your questions?" Pfft, she expects me to remember…wait…what? Oh my—

Her eyes focus on me alone now, and I immediately feel regret for wishing this. Her eyes are dark blue due to the random color lights that are zapping everyone on the dance floor. I'm guessing; I'm not an eye doctor. "Where is your party dress? And why were your running?"

"Well for starters, all the stores were closed. And I was running from two men."

"What does stores' being closed, have to do with—" she sighs, and walks around a little. Why is she so stressed!? It's creeping me out! "Look, I don't have time to deal with your weirdness—" well you can kiss my— "just remember the full plan and we should be good to go…. God, where's Maka and Soul?"

What full plan?! You know what? I give up. Time to go with the freakin' flow!

"Uh-huh." Well, I don't think agreeing like a retard is going to—Never mind! Going with the flow, I said!

"I'm going to go find Maka! You go see if you can spot," she leans in and whispers, "well…you know who…" She smirks and then takes off.

…Is she trolling me?!

Adriana is the spawn of Satan, I know it! Or maybe that's me.

* * *

Lalalalalala, I'm so lost, going with the flow sucks, I'm alone, I want to jump out a window, lalalalala.

Hurray for skipping and trying to distract yourself!

Oho~ I'm going to go crazy! I just know it!

I kick the wall in frustration. I actually wait for the pain to arrive but then it hits me…I have a iron toe!

I knew it! That ladybug bit me and gave me super-ladybug powers!

Time to keep walking and going with the flow, when in reality, I am screaming inside my head. I cannot _stand _being the only one in this hallway.

That's it! I break into a run and open the first door I see. And wouldn't you know it, there's a person sitting in a sofa, watching TV. Yes, a person! I am saved!

"Ah!" The guy turns around and screams when he sees me. Well, that hurt my feelings. "Who are you?!" Now he's standing up on his awesome coach. "Who let you in here?!"

It's just some little kid. I'm guessing in the ages between 8 and 10, short brown hair and matching brown eyes. He's wearing some kind of business suit, similar to those two security men downstairs but cooler looking.

"Calm down! I can't answer so many questions!" I'll forget, damn it.

"G-Get out!" Hey, the stuttering reminds me of Crona. Oh! Maybe he's Crona in disguise! "You're from the DWMA, aren't you? Here to get me, huh? Well, let me just tell you something, I don't intend to give him back!"

So many words to process! "What are you talking about?!"

"He's not here, I swear," the child shrieks.

Well, that doesn't sound suspicious at all. Okay, Mary, you have to be serious now, this is your chance to succeed in this mission—even though Maka and Soul were supposed to be doing all the work! Damn my luck!

"Why are you doing this? Let him go," is the only brave thing I could muster up at the moment. If he answers the question I'll get a nice idea. And if I get lucky, he'll be one of those loud mouths who go on and on about their life story.

The child started shuddering, his shoulders repeatedly dropping and raising at tremendous speeds. His face was low, trying to conceal his visible tears. "It's not fair…Why does _he _get to be appointed? Just because I was born _one minute later!" _he yells at the top of his lungs, leaving his gasping for breath. "The only way…is to kill him."

"I won't let you do that." He's lucky that he still _has _a brother! Stupid little runt knows nothing!

His face rises up with determination. "Just try to stop me." And suddenly he runs to the back of the room and grabs a sword from a trashcan…a TRASHCAN.

What the safari zone!?

He swings the sword towards me and suddenly Kid wearing his symmetrical Karate costumes pops out of nowhere. Every technique I learned from Kid suddenly rushes back and I recite the dodging mechanism that he taught me. I used the green chainsaw Seven got me to block the kid's attacks.

I continue dodging until I spot an opening. His arm becomes too tired, so when he raises his sword to strike, it is slower than the first time. I take the chance; I lift the chainsaw and hit the kid on the shoulder—but he has amazing reflexes, because he goes to the floor and rolls away.

Stupid kid! He's too fast!

I don't give him time to get up. So I run towards him and swing the chainsaw again. This time I actually do some damage…to his sword. The sword breaks in half as if it were made of plastic. He drops the sword and begins to PUNCH ME. A little runt is punching my stomach, it doesn't hurt, but it's still a pretty annoying and pathetic sight. I decide to punch him away.

It works, and his small body falls to the ground. He gasps and hacks for air. Great, now I feel bad for hitting a small little boy who has possibly kidnapped his older twin brother. Damn you small, cute adorable children!

The little kid gives me an evil glare (which is actually more adorable than scary) and gets back up, runs to the same trashcan and picks up a baseball bat. What is this!? Am I hallucinating this whole fight?

Maybe it's the ladybug.

The kid still looks so adorable: posing with his baseball bat, staring at me with daggers. It's so cute! "I'm not going to let you stop me!"

He charges at me, and this time, I remember Kid's words of wisdom: _"Mary, you're supposed to block _symmetrically!" Hm…maybe I should take up swimming classes.

"_Stop getting distracted!" _an annoyed voice echoes.

Oh right, the adorable child!

The room floods back and the little kid is closer now. I quickly prepare myself to block once again. But I forgot that the last time I blocked I was uncomfortably close to the wall. So when I hit the wall—it was Game Over.

But when the baseball-child swung his weapon and hit me in the ribs, I squeezed my eyes touched. But only to remember, _again_, that I have black blood. The kid looks up at me, confusion in his eyes when he spots my smile. I raise the chainsaw and swing it at his side again.

The adorable child now becomes the annoying child when he uses his baseball bat to block. The bat gets cut in half, and the dead piece of wood falls to the ground, rendering the weapon useless.

"Dang it!" Aww, little kid swear words are adorable!

This is starting to get annoying, though.

The kid is running back to his magical trashcan. I almost laugh because I know that whatever thing he takes out of there, I'll easily cut it in half. But then…the kid pulls out a gun…a GUN. What the FU—?

He pulls the trigger and I hit the floor. It's so nice that I don't have to worry about feeling pain any more. Now I can hit anything to express my anger and not feel a thing! I could also hit the floor comically.

I stare at the child and find him shuddering. The pistol in his hands is shaking uncontrollably along with his body… I on the other hand, am too mad to feel sorry for him. "Stop grabbing random weapons from that trashcan, good sir!"

He slightly lowers his gun when I finished my sentence, surprise flashes across his face and then he smiles, pleasurably. "Sir?" he repeats. "Oh, I like the sound of that. And it'll be my official title when I'm done with my brother!"

Then why was he busy watching TV?

A maddening look replaces his adorable face. Now he looks like a crazy baby killer. He begins to pull the trigger without a pause. I have to run across the room to avoid the bullets. There's no way I'm risking reflecting the bullets with this chainsaw!

I ended up doing three laps around the whole room before I was gasping for breath. Then I remembered. This is a chainsaw. It can be revved.

I would face palm myself, if I had the time. While I'm running, I decide to take the chance and start the chainsaw. After a few tries that have made me want to throw this chainsaw in a fire, it worked. And I stopped running, my muscles thanking me for the decision. The kid stopped for a minute to aim straight for my forehead. Haha, that won't do _anything! _Wait…if bullets won't harm me…then why the hell was I avoiding them!? Oh my Josh, just kill me now.

He pulls the trigger over and over while I reflect the bullets with the chainsaw.

Thank you Maka for teaching me how to block small items using different weapons! I was rather annoyed when her lessons majorly consisted of working with different weapons and not Adriana alone, but now I know what she meant…

"_There will be times when you do a mission without Adriana, or get separated from her in battle. And when that time comes you'll need to use another weapon. I'm going to teach you how to work with different types of weapons…Don't put on that face! Trust me; you'll be thanking me later!"_

I hope I remember to, Maka. Because your words of wisdom, plus Seven's fortune telling, have been saving my butt.

As the small child continues to shoot, he starts yelling, "When he's dead, I'll become the next in line for king! When he dies, I'll show the party his head, and everyone will bow down to _me!"_

The kid stops shooting, brings his gun down and breaths hard. Does he have asthma or something?

"Me…" he feebly repeats. "Not Daniel, but _NATHANIEL__!" _With one last shriek he shoots the last bullet (at least…I hope it's the last bullet) and because I was too busy staring at the magical trashcan, I don't raise the chainsaw to block it. The bullet hits my forehead, but does not penetrate. Instead, the bullet simply falls to the ground, bounces, and rolls on the floor, until a red carpet stops its path.

"H-How?!" Nathaniel takes a step back and drops the gun in fear. "Y-You…You _monster!" _

I decide to walk up to him.

When he sees this he starts staggering back, and putting one arm in front of him as some sort of protection. "I-I won't give up!"

After I'm too close, he trips and whimpers. I grab the collar of his shirt and whisper in a menacing voice, "Kid, you don't know the pain of losing a sibling. Take it from me, don't be a stupid little shitbrain. Love your brother."

Instead of my words being registered in his brain as words of wisdom, he gains a pissed off expression. "You don't understand! So you lost your sibling?! You're only telling me this because you loved your sibling, _I _don't! I want him to die! I WANT TO BE KING."

Before he continues with his delirious rant I punch him. "Shut up, you're annoying me…I still love my sister—don't you dare use past tense…You're what?—eight? You shouldn't be thinking about becoming king or gaining power, you should be enjoy your childhood. You shouldn't be planning to kill your _own brother!" _I throw him against the wall. He slides off and violently shudders.

"Where is he?!"

One eye cracks open and, after a few minutes of my impatience growing and a very violent daydream, his finger points to a closet that was on the right side of the room, in a corner. I swiftly look at him to see if he's showing any traces of lying, but he's looking glumly at the ground, so I don't suspect it.

Before I open the closet, I realize something…I just harmed a little kid, one who might possibly have asthma.

Tears well up in my eyes and I can't help but glomp the child.

"I'm sorry~!"

"The-the hell are you doing?!"

"Are you hurt? Did it hurt a lot? Should I take you to a hospital?"

"What? N-No, I'm not hurt! Well, _now _I am, you're squeezing my lungs!"

I pull my hands away and wipe my face on my jacket.

"What's wrong with you?!"

"I'm sorry I hurt you!"

"Hey, don't act like I'm a little kid! I'm seventeen!"

Wut…

* * *

"I can't believe you managed to save Daniel, Mary," Maka congratulates me outside of the giant house. "Good job."

"I think she's still shocked that Nathaniel was about four years older than her," Soul comments.

"Well, he _does _look like a little ki—"

"Yes he does!" I explode, and possibly spit on Adriana's face. "I thought he was eight!"

"Yeah," Soul shudders for some reason. It's not cold, so I assume that it's because the small child who's actually almost an adult creeps him out.

"Mary…can I ask you something?" I turn to see Maka pointing at the back.

"Sure," I agree.

I walk with her until she stops. "What's up?" I nonchalantly ask, putting both of my hands on my jacket pocket.

"Mary, where did you get that chainsaw?"

"Oh. A kid gave it to me."

"Please be more specific." Man, I wish I could sound that badass.

"Um…well, when I was trying to find the house because I lost my phone—" That Adriana _stole! _She's been trolling me _all along! _"—and I saw this kid with a clown costume and a chainsaw. His mom came and she gave me a ride until I spotted the house, then he gave me the chainsaw and told me that I'd need it."

"Hm…I'll have to report that to Lord Death." Her green eyes look at mine, she's still in business-mode. "Do you know the kid's name?"

"Uh…"

She closes in on me and puts her hands on my shoulder, roughly. "Mary, you _have _to remember!" To prove the significance of the situation, she shook my shoulders.

His name was…

Uh…

"I know his name was a number…"

"Was it a one-digit number?" Why is she not reciting numbers so I can remember more easily?! Oh, I see! She's still an alien who wants me to fail!

Then I hear it. Adriana and Soul's conversation…she mentioned Death the Kid…Why does that give me a startling feeling.

Did his name have anything to do with Kid? The kid (haha) who's obsessed with symme—

"I remember!" I'm so proud of myself!

"What is it?" Maka is still unhappy.

"His name is Seven!"

"Seven…" she repeats again, tasting the name. "Do you know his last name?"

"No…" _Don't hurt me! _"Sorry…"

She sighs, closes her eyes, and turns away. "Did you see the purple can?"

"You mean the magical trashcan?"

Maka sweat-dropped, not prepared to hear my awesome nickname for the annoying thing. "Yeah, I guess it looks like a trashcan. Well, you remember how he pulled weapons out of there, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that 'trashcan' was an invention made by regular humans who became jealous at Meister's ability to wield weapons. They manufactured many by paying witches' to make it possible. They sold the 'trashcan's' all throughout the world. But it was driving too many people mad. Mostly due to the witch's magic being involved. So Lord Death banned it from ever being used. But it wasn't so simple. Because of the witches' magic, Lord Death had to hire someone to destroy the magical creations...That chainsaw...it had the ability to cut any of those weapons in half...correct?"

"Yes."

"Hm..."

"Well, I'll talk to Lord Death about that. You don't have to worry about it..."

Maka feeds me one more piece of information. "The twins' dad was the only one left who owns this thing, so we had to come over here, and capture him. He told us where it was hidden and we found you already taking care of another mission entirely." She then giggles. I'm just glad she's relaxed now. "Lord Death will be so proud! We've killed two birds with one stone!"

"Glad to be of service!" I really am.

The curiosity that had been thickening my blood has finally been satisfied. The curiosity is gone!

"Oh! Before I forget. Thank you, Maka."

"Hm?"

"For teaching me how to use different weapons, and how to counter attacks."

Her smile widens. "You're welcome!"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hope you enjoyed! Thank you for reading!

Hero: This 'Seven' kid…Is he another rival?!

No.

Hero: *suspicious* I don't like him…

I do! :D

Hero: You would.


	32. The Mall

**Author's Note: **Why have I posted this so early? Because I love you guys! And also because I finished this really early.

Finally, it has arrived. The chapter that I've been waiting for—not the chapter when the plot arrives, oh no! But this is the beginning of a wonderful thing.

Hero: What? O.o

:)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Soul Eater. Only OC's.

* * *

Hm…a break wouldn't hurt…And Arachne's not around so…It's YouTube time.

The report can wait; I'm almost done with it anyways, I just need two more paragraphs to finish Dr. Stein's report on witches' souls.

"Hey!"

"Aaah!" My finger has a spasm attack and hits the X button, which is a good thing I guess, I can't let Adriana rat me out to Arachne for taking a break, when the break will obviously expand to hours, and then I'll forget about the report. There was this time where I _deleted _an essay because I forgot that I was mine. Oh…

"I need to ask you something."

"Well, now I'm not going to answer! You scared me, man!"

"I am not a man—anyways; I need to ask you something."

I can't stay mad at her for long, if I did that then I'd have to ignore her and say mean stuff, and blah, blah, blah, that takes too much work. "Yeah, yeah, what is it?" I ask as I examine my laptop's screen. No damage.

"Well—"

"_Boys and girls of every age—"_

I pick up the phone without looking at the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Why does your phone _always _interrupt me?"

I cover my phone and whisper to Adriana, "I don't think it ever has."

"Oh, how would you know? Whatever, I'll ask Eruka." With that, she walks away.

I swear, that girl reminds me of a bitter old lady who hits you with her cane…I don't want to hang around with Adriana when she turns 60.

"Mary? Are you still there?" A small voice reminds me that I'm in the middle of a phone call.

"Oh, yes! I'm still here!" I have no idea who this is.

"Can you do me a favor?"

This time I can't help but examine the Caller ID. Ah, it's Maka, and she wants something.

"Sure…" I'm doing a report and I need to finish, but—anything for a friend.

"I need you to take Crona to the mall."

"What? Why?" Oh Josh, I didn't mean to sound like it was a horrific idea. I'd just prefer if he asked _me. _But Maka seems to be the one setting things up…I guess that's good.

"He needs more clothing. Now, for this type of thing Liz and Patty would take him, but they're—"

"On a mission?" That seems to be the convenient excuse for everybody.

"No. They're just too busy. And I'm busy with schoolwork, so I was wondering if you could take him. It'll be a good opportunity."

…A good opportunity for what?

I take my hand to my forehead and feel the warmness. I don't feel so good, especially with the lack of watching YouTube videos. "Alright, I'll do it." I can't help but sigh at the end.

"Thank you! It won't be long, don't worry! Just text Crona when you're ready!" And with that, Maka hangs up.

I throw my phone on the couch and stretch. And I thought I'd just have to do this report today.

"Adriana!" I call as loud as I can.

In no time she exits our room and asks, "What's wrong?" Aww, she's actually _worried._ That's cute! But it's time to disappoint! Evil laugh.

I reach out a hand. "Help me up."

"Are you kidding me?!"

"No. I need your help."

"Oh…" She becomes worried again. "Well, do your legs hurt or something?"

"No…" I squint my eyes. Hopefully, she stops asking questions and just helps me.

She stares me down. "Mary. Get. Up. Yourself."

I groan and thrash my arms. "But that takes work~!"

"Get up right now you lazy bum!"

* * *

It took some time but I finished getting dressed. It's just that my pajama was so _warm. _I kept complaining in my room and Adriana told me to go get coffee so I could become hyper. But then I told her that that takes too much work, and then she hit my head. But it didn't hurt! HAHAHAHAHA.

Now I'm outside.

What am I doing here again?

Uh…Oh great! Now I have to go back upstairs and ask Adriana!

* * *

"Crona, what are you doing?! Let's go inside already!" I pull harder and hope that the exercise I made to the top of the stairs and into my apartment made me gain strength.

But he's still holding on. "No! I don't want to go in there! That place is horrible!"

I give up. I let go of his leg and he falls to the ground.

I can't just _leave _him here. I made a promise to Maka—oh wait, no I _didn't! _But I _want _to help Crona, so I will try! But then as I'm about to grab his leg again, I realize something…Crona's probably stronger than me…after all, _everyone _is! So…Oh whatever! I'll just _try._

Instead of his leg, I grab his stomach. Well…I wish I hadn't.

"Mary! What are you _doing_?!" Many people were already staring, but now more heads turn our way, and I feel like a creep. The surprised way he said that doesn't help.

Instead of saying it in my head to avoid being rude, I go right ahead and say it, "Grabbing you so I can drag you to the freakin' mall!"

"But we're already at the mall!" …Is he trying to be funny or something?

"I meant the place where you shop for clothes!" I don't remember the name, man. "Now, let _go!"_

He stubbornly tightens his grip. "NO!"

Instead of another tug-of-war (is that what you call it?) Crona lets go and gets up, and because I made the genius move of not grabbing his leg, when he runs away he pulls me with him. I assume he thought that by making this rash decision he would surprise me and my grip on him would loosen. But that's where he's wrong! Mwua. I interlock my hands together and try my best to run at his pace.

But of course, I can't do something for a long period of time: I either get too tired, or distracted. Well _both _happened. I'm tired by nature, so it wasn't surprising when my lungs were begging me to give up and let them get a chance to get a hold of themselves. And as for the distraction…You see, there was this balloon…and…that's it. There was a yellow balloon that a kid was holding. And so I stopped to stare at its awesomeness, Crona was still running and I fell.

And I ended up taking Crona down _with _me. My fingers were locked together when I fell, Crona was still running, his legs made contact with the two connected fists, and he tripped.

* * *

"Crona get back here!" This looks so awkward! I've been chasing him for so long that some people think that we're actors doing this on purpose. Some have even walked up to me when I was trying to not lose Crona and catch my breath at the same time and given me money! I didn't decline it. Are you kidding me? I _need _that money! To give Adriana… Not because I'm being generous but because I've been stealing _her _money, because I give my money to the two witches' (who I just forgot the names of). I've been stealing from Adriana's wallet, but one day she caught me in the action when my brain decided to forget that Adriana was in the house. She got pissed; I promised that I'd pay her back.

Great…now I forgot what I was doing.

Oh yes! Chasing Crona! I continue running.

But then I stop when I think, _Why though?_

Oh yes! Because I need him to groom dogs! I pick up my speed again.

Only to stop to think some more! _Wait…I'm pretty sure _that's_ not it…_

I guess when I'm thinking too much I can't pay attention to what I'm doing.

Great, so I just lost a pink-haired individual who wears a black dress/robe. I don't know _how! _Wait, why am I on the floor? Why am I watching a toothbrush commercial! Aah! Yellow teeth!

I rise from the floor and stumble away from the TV before I realize what happened. The store where they sell TV's, I just got on the floor and started watching a commercial some bottom TV was displaying. Greeeaat.

I look around the place. I'm near the main escalator's…I bet if I ask the people around me where Crona is they won't tell me because they fear that I'm going to harm him or something. Well, I just want to get in that store, buy him some clothes, get out, go home, change back into my pajamas, and watch YOUTUBE.

Well, _I'm _sitting down. I don't care if some people look at me in a strange way—I'm used to that. I don't care if they step on me—I'm used to that too. And I don't care if a dog with peanut butter decides to lick me—I'm actually not used to that. Whatever! When Crona decides to grow a pair, he'll find me here, waiting.

Did I honestly just say that about Crona…someone who's never done anything bad to me? This is why I need to die. I realize that I'm being mean and then guilt fills me. I can't _stand _being guilty! You'd think I'd be used to it now due to the fact that if anything unfortunate happens to me or anyone around me, I blame myself. I will try to find a way to make it my fault. Force of habit? Is that how the phrase goes? I hope so.

I take my head to my knees and sigh. "Fuck."

And now I cursed! This day just gets better and better.

"Stupid Mary…making fun of beautiful Crona, and cursing…what's wrong with her?" I've talked to myself before—sure I have. But I've never referred to myself in _third person_…or have I?

This thought just makes me want to go home and sleep. After all, what's the use of crying when you have roommates that will try to nag you and make you feel better? They'll just make me feel like an idiot, no doubt Adriana's going to bring out her secret card and make me feel _worse._

"Are you okay?" I _would _look up, but that requires work. I do it anyway. And it's Crona! I hope he didn't hear what I said.

"M-Mary?" he asks again, this time confused as to why I didn't answer the first time.

"Huh? What?" I snap my head up as if someone just called me from faraway. And considering I was in Mary land, then that statement is correct. "I'm fine, Crona. Just tired."

"Oh…" Again, like so many times before, he looks down to the floor as if he did something wrong. This is the thing I hate about our relationship, how awkward it gets so fast. I always try to continue the conversation but…what if I say something stupid? That'll only make it worse.

"I'm sorry." And there's that phrase. He's used it so many times that I've lost count (not that I'd been keeping count since the beginning. No…of course not…)

I bite my lip and begin to wonder. Shouldn't _I _be constantly apologizing? After all, I do horrible things every day. Why don't _I _apologize to people when I feel like I've done something wrong? Why? Why can't I be nicer? You'd think that I've learned my lesson…Is it hereditary? Can I blame my behavior on my parents? Again! There I go! Being a stupid bitch and blaming my _parents _for something that's not their fault!

I shut my eyes close. Okay, time to stop thinking about yourself and how horrible you are. Try to be selfless, think about Crona. You came here to shop with him not to sit down and talk to yourself. I open my eyes once again and come up with a new resolve: today, it's all about Crona. And only Crona. Time to be nice, not be weird, and be completely…I-I forgot…I want to remember…but Crona's waiting. Thankfully I remember what he had said before. "No, Crona, don't apologize for no reason." Huh. First time I actually say something that I was thinking. Or is it…?

"I'm ready now…" I see that he wants to act brave, but his voice quivered. Well, I don't know what type of things happened in that store (_that's _what you call them! I am a genius!) but I'm not forcing him in there like I was planning to do just a few minutes ago.

"Actually, let's go to another store."

His eyes widened in surprise.

What? Didn't he know that there's always an alternative option? Or is it just so hard to believe that option I'm nice?

"T-Thank you…"

"Awesome! Now…" I reach out my hand. "Please, help me up."

"Is something wrong?"

"No. It just takes work."

* * *

It's mean, I know.

But I couldn't take it anymore.

The lady said that the other clothing store for both males and females was far away (she said the males' clothing store was only _farther_).

And I began doing okay.

But my legs were whining.

Or was that just me?

The point I'm trying to make is that Crona is giving me a piggyback ride, Ragnarok is complaining, and people are staring. I, on the other hand, feel like a bitch for allowing this to happen.

I didn't want this. I was tired, and I guess it either looked like I was dying, so Crona offered to carry me; or Crona's just…I dunno, _crazy _or something.

What I'm trying to say is: kill me now.

Ragnarok is only making things worse with his bitching.

He suddenly turns his little head to me and says, "_I'm _the only one who could be carried by Crona!"

I sigh, again. This has been going on for a while. HOW MUCH FURTHER IS THIS DAMNED STORE? "That's nice, Ragnarok."

Ragnarok completely ignores me and bends his body so he's face-to-face with his meister. "Crona, why are you allowing this bitch to get a free ride on your back?!"

"Hey midget, calm down! It's just a friggin' piggyback ride! Don't get your nonexistent panties in a twist!"

"What was that, you bitch!?"

"Guys, stop fighting!" Crona scolds from the front.

"Tell her to apologize!"

"Tell _him _to apologize!"

And Ragnarok just shrieked.

People are running away.

I can't mind read.

And I have a headache.

Life is an amazing thing…when demons made out of black blood shriek in your ear.

* * *

Yes, we're here!

"Mary, are you ready?" Crona asks, his head twisting around to see me.

"Yeah, hold up—"

But I guess Crona reacted at "Yeah", because he let go and I fell on my butt.

"Mary!" Crona whips around and gets on his knees besides me, his hands hovering over me.

"Haha!" Oh Josh, he's still here. "_You fell!_"

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," I mutter under my breath so none of them hear me. Okay, maybe Crona can hear me, because at least _he's _nice…and wonderful, and beautiful, and—

"I'm sorry, Mary, I thought you were ready!" Damn it Crona! Don't interrupt me when I'm fantasizing about you!

"Yeah…Oh! No! I mean, it's fine, really!"

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Cue the dark chuckle from Ragnarok.

Haha, no! My butt hurts! "Yeah, I'm fine."

Finally we enter the store, and I immediately want to go back. "Hello!" Hero greets, wearing the white and blue uniform of this store.

"You work here?" Crona asks before I can say anything, which is a good thing because I promised myself that I wouldn't be mean to Hero, and what I was about to say was not nice.

"Yes, I do!" Hm…maybe _I _should get a job. "Now, why are you guys here?"

What do you think?! "We're here to buy clothes, obviously!" answers Ragnarok in the exact attitude that I was planning to use.

You know what? I'm not going to talk. If I do I'll get in trouble. I'll let Crona and Ragnarok do all the talking. "Hm, I guess. I'm just asking because sometimes people come here to ask where our rival store is located…" He rubs the back of his neck as he reveals this.

I'm fighting the urge to ask where their rival store is.

"Hey Ginger, you know that Crona can't continue talking for more than two sentences! It's your turn to talk!"

I hate this store. The perfume gives me a headache. "Hero, can you show us where some appropriate clothes for Crona are?"

Hero rubs his chin and stares up at the ceiling. "Hm…you could do that, _or…_" He takes Crona's hand and drags him away, leaving me wondering if I should save him or sit down.

Eh, I'm going to go follow. LALALALA.

Hero ends up taking Crona to the changing rooms. When I finally arrive he says, "Alright. I'm going to take your measurements, Crona."

Hero creepily smiles at Crona and backtracks him into a changing room while chanting, "Come on~!" My perverse mind can only wonder what they're actually doing in there.

* * *

Oh Temple Run, you're so undeniably frustrating sometimes.

"Mary!"

"What?"

Instead of laughing at Hero's pissed off expression, messy blonde hair, and unbuttoned and wrinkly white shirt, I simply look at him like nothing out of the ordinary has occurred.

"You're little _friend _in there, and his demon spawn are being _really _difficult!" he complains through gritted teeth.

"Awesome," I comment and go back to my game. But Hero decides to smack my phone to the floor. "Hey, watch it, Blondie! I don't have a cover for this thing!"

"Too bad!" Is he pissed because his hair has been messed with? "Go in there," he jabs a finger to the changing room. "And let me know when he's grown a pair of balls!" And with that, Hero bumps my shoulder and stomps off.

I wonder what Crona did? Or was it Ragnarok?

I walk inside the changing room to find Crona sitting down with both of his hands on his cheeks. Whether he's noticed my presence or not, he doesn't look up, just continues to stare at the floor. He finally says something, "I couldn't. It was too weird. I've never had a stranger take my measurements before. That's why I didn't want to go to that other store. Last time I went there some lady was too friendly…"

"Aww, you're so cute!"

He suddenly blushes and looks up at me. "What?!"

I cough. I love how I don't give a crap what he thinks of my behavior anymore. "What I meant to say is that…that's fine. I wouldn't like it either if someone was too _friendly."_

Crona slowly shakes his head, as if he can't figure something out. "But isn't Arachne a little too friendly to you?"

Oh. Arachne. I forgot about her.

I slump to the ground and hug my knees. "I guess you're right…I'm sorry!"

"No, wait—why are you on the?—not important!" Crona rises from his seat and walks over to me. "Mary there's no need to get…um…depressed about that. You, uh…" I could tell by his voice that he's terribly confused.

"Mommy, mommy, I found a changing room!" A little girl pulls opens the door to our changing room. She sees Crona and I and immediately closes the door. "I'm so sorry!"

"I'm sexy and I know it~!"

Crona sends me a weird look after I sing that. "I see you're better."

"What do you mean?" I gasp. "Crone the Cutie! That's your new nickname!" Oh no, I sound too excited.

Again, he blushes. "Um…thank you…but I think we should—"

"Crona's sexy and he knows it!"

"Actually, I don't—"

"Everything is gonna be all right~!" I jump of the floor and start singing.

"Mary," Crona cautiously gets off the floor. "You're too loud."

"It's okay! You know why? Because I like donuts!"

Crona puts on a serious face and puts both of his hands on my shoulders. "Mary, please, calm down."

I stupidly giggle. "Every time you touch me I get turned on."

His eyes widen and he steps away cautiously. "W-What?"

I frown. "Geez, Crona, I was just _kidding_!"

He grabs his shoulder and looks down at the floor again. "I'm sorry."

No, not again! Why do I get mad at _Crona?! _There is only one thing to do. Get excited again! Because _sometimes _I actually have a choice! Just kidding, I'm just going to act happy when I'm actually dying inside for making Crona feel bad.

I glomp Crona. "Awwwwww, you're so cute! Don't be sorry! I'm just crazy!"

A normal person would push me away and call the police, but this is Death City. There is no such thing as normal people! But Crona decides to hug me back and say, "I know you are."

My eyes shoot open. And I look up at him with a face near tears. "Crona…how could you?"

"What? What did I do?"

"Haha! Nothing!"

"This bitch is crazy," Ragnarok pops out of nowhere and comments. "Crona, let's run now while we still have a chance."

I roll my eyes and take my hands away. "Alright, Crona, I hear you have a problem with people measuring you…"

"Uh…yes."

"Will you like to join me on the bench?"

He nods and we both sit down. "Next step is for your head to be on my lap."

"Wohoho, Crona! You're gonna get some—"

"Ragnarok, please stop being a perverse demon and go back to Crona's bloodstream."

"Hey, fuck off! I'll do whatever I want!"

Crona looks at Ragnarok. "Ragnarok, please, you know you'll get bored."

"Hm…will you give me food?"

"I'll buy you some hamburgers," I suggest.

"Deal!"

Awesome, he's gone. Now back to my evil plan. "So, Crona put your head on my lap."

"Why?"

"DON'T QUESTION ME."

He just blankly stares. "Please?" He sighs and does as he is told.

Perfect! Mwuahahaha!

"Now close your eyes—"

"Mary, do you even know what you're doing?"

"Haha, no. But I saw this in a movie, so I'm sure it is perfectly safe!" Then I grumble really fast, "Iamnotresponsibleforanyharm—"

"What?"

"—onyourmentalstate. Okay! We can continue."

Crona gives me one last strange look before closing his eyes.

"Now, I want you to imagine a peaceful place."

He nods.

"DON'T MOVE YOUR HEAD."

For some reason, he smiles. Am I being funny? I am evil I say, eviiiiil.

"Whatever you say," he murmurs, still finding this therapy funny.

I cough. "Now, are you in your happy place?"

"Yes."

"Okay, so—Why are you laughing?"

"I-I'm sorry!" Crona says in between fits of laughter, not even sounding apologetic. "It's just that this is a rip-off of our black blood training."

I blink. "It is?"

He opens his eyes and explains, "Yes, it is. I guess you remembered it and put it out of context."

"Not fun—"

My heart suddenly gives a painful pang. Everything seems to be going away. White hands with claws tear away the changing room, the sound their claws make are very audible and annoying. I grit my teeth together and the hairs on my arms rise. The screeching sound becomes louder. Cries are heard from all around me…cries of adults, small children, animals—what's going on? The room shakes as if there's an earthquake. The light from the ceiling comes crashing down, only to be sucked up by some type of dark pit. Now the white hands with claws have ripped out everything—letting the blackness devour the remains. The hands come over to me and start ripping away my skin. But the weird part is…it doesn't hurt. It would actually be peaceful if my skin weren't rising up and disappearing as soon as it was clawed off. The process of eliminating everything continues until I can't see anything.

It's like if I close my eyes; except I know I'm still somewhere. Maybe the changing room? It almost feels that if I can find where the door is and step out, I'll be back at the store. But I can't move. My body's gone…or is it? I put my hand in front of my face but see nothing. Do I still have a hand? It feels like I do—like I can still move it.

And that's how it is for a while. I can feel my body moving but not against my will. It's sort of like a stream is moving me along. But I still can't see anything. Nothing to see but blackness. That is, until something green catches my attention.

This little current is actually nice, I don't have to force myself to fight against it, it actually listens to me. I thought about it going faster, and it actually did! And I regretted it, because I head butted the green thing. When I regain my thoughts, I notice that the green thing is what a soul looks like. The one's that Dr. Stein has shown us in class, the one's our books have pictures of. Like the one that I had to do my report on. But this soul is distinguishable.

It was like the one I saw that day when I first resonated souls with Adriana. But back then…it only had one crescent moon, like I do now.

But this one…

…has four.

I giggle, and I could actually hear the creepy giggle. "I'm gonna touch it."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm still working on the next chapter, but it should be up soon—I hope.

I know… I suck at writing about romance. You can't blame me! Well…yes you can. But I don't blame myself! Well…yes I do. The point I'm trying to make here is…don't expect the greatest romance ever in this fanfic. That's why it isn't labeled as so, because I will never be able to do it! XD That's why Crona and Mary's relationship is stupid, but it gets better. Truuust me.

Hero: *completely ignores the romance speech* Holy shit! I'm in this chapter! :O

Yes you are. Time for you to shine!

Hero: I was there for a couple of minutes…

Oh…Sorry about that.

Hero: *rage* And you made me sound gay!

:)

Hero: I thought I was your favorite!

One of my—

Hero: I'M GOING TO—

Read on? Thanks Hero! You're the best!

But you guys are the best-est…est. Thank you for reading!


	33. First Crescent Moon - Torment

**Author's Note: **Woohoo! The awesomeness begins! Just kidding, this fanfic still sucks. Anyways! I'd like to thank "black blood insanity" for reviewing! You are awesome!

Let's get to it then, yes?

Also, the following chapters, until a certain point, will be written in third person. Why? Because I want my readers to know what's going on. If I write in Mary's perspective then it's going to be…um…

Hero: You have no excuse… do you?

Of course I do! Um…um…

Hero: *sigh*

* * *

"No…" Crona turned to be exposed at the sight of Mary staring at the playground. "Why am I here? I shouldn't be here!" Frantic eyes turned to stare at him. "This is the past! What the hell are we doing—?" She suddenly covered her mouth with her hand, as if she was going to vomit.

"Mary, what's wrong? Are you feeling sick?" Crona asked, momentarily at her side.

"Sorry…" A bit of saliva had escaped from the corner of her mouth. "I shouldn't curse."

He blinked, not understanding the situation. "I-It's fine…sometimes we can't help ourselves…"

"But…" Her head rose a little as if trying to get a clearer view at the scene below. "Why are we here? Why are you here?" she directed the question to him, her eyes staring up at his, the only emotions being confusion and fear.

He had never seen Mary in such a state. He didn't know how to deal with the moment. The air felt heavy around them even though it didn't agree with the weather. The laughing sun was starting to set and below was a playground. Two swings, a yellow slide not too far, monkey bars, small little horses and other creatures where children can ride on, and other things that you would see in a normal park. The only child who stood out was Mary, due to her red hair and her detachment from the other kids. Some were begging their parents to let them stay a bit longer, others were enjoying the time they had left of freedom before school which started the next day.

Then it hit him.

Mary used to be bullied in parks.

He remembered their date. Towards the end they had entered a park, and when Crona asked her to sit down, she didn't.

"_I don't have the best memories with swings…I'd rather not sit on any for the rest of my life…"_

And yet there she was, sitting on a swing.

"I…I don't understand…" she spoke again. Her voice quivered and her body shook.

"I guess…" Crona started, "we're back in time." The only possible explanation he could come up with. It made sense. After all, this was obviously a part of Mary's memories, and Crona could tell that it was specifically hers. Some of the kid's faces were blotched out. Their limbs were barely shaped like that of a human. The same thing was for the parents, some were in pretty bad shape: their whole bodies were scratched out, only leaving the barely humanoid figure coaxing their children to return home before the moon takes its turn. The only people who had a different appearance were the kids by the monkey bars who were laughing about how lucky they were that their parents were working late. While their bodies were far more humanoid than the others, their faces seemed as if someone had scratched them out with their fingernails. It seemed like a child's type of thing to do with a picture. They scratch out the faces they hate with their fingernails, because they're not allowed sharp objects. Scratching of hate, it seemed. Roughly everywhere, careless, awkward, centered—why them, though?

"Back in time…?" Her voice brought him back to the current situation.

"Yes, it seems that way."

"No…no…" her voice cracked, "We _can't _be back! We can't!" Before Crona could say anything Mary was slowly bending down and it seemed as if someone was pushing her and she was fighting against it, even though in this case it would seem like it would be the other way around. She brought her shaky hands to her hair and grasped at it. A few strands of red hair shot out from the gaps her fingers were making. "We can't be here…This is the past!"

Like a broken record, she muttered the same words over and over again, not allowing any sort of tranquility.

"Is there any way back?!" Crona jumped when Mary destroyed the position she was in. Her eyes were still trembling with fear.

Crona wanted to say yes, but he didn't know if that was the truth. Mary seemed desperate of a positive answer, anything to calm her down and stop her from worrying. This was just too much for Crona to handle! Usually Mary was the one who was calm and helping him, not the other way around! He looked down in disappointment and locked his teeth. "I-I don't know…"

"What do you _mean _you don't know!?" Now there was anger and bitterness mixed in with her nervous nature. The rubber band was starting to stretch.

"I'm sorry! I don't know how to get back!" he answered in all honesty.

Before she could say anything else, she heard the voices, "Let's say something to her!"

Crona stared back at the playground. One of the kids, who was wearing a blue hat, had whispered to one of his friends, but not in a friendly tone. They weren't planning to start a friendly conversation with "her".

"Don't look!" Crona flinched when something had screeched. To his surprise it was Mary. She was trembling like a Chihuahua now; tears were starting to form little waves in her eyes, not having escaped yet. "Please…" she begged, "don't look." She brought her head down to cover up her shame. Crona saw the tears falling down like raindrops. One by one…jumping.

"Mary…"

"Hey demon!" Crona's eyes shot open. Demon? What was that word doing in a small child's vocabulary? But more importantly, why was it being used to address a little girl? Crona balled his fists, fighting the curiosity. Mary looked back up at him to see if he had looked.

"Hey, Bloody Mary, having fun in the swing?"

"Geez, you're always alone doing nothing! Talk about boring!"

"It's not her fault, after all demons can't have friends!"

"You can say that again, not even the _teachers _like her!"

"I bet her parents want to sell her or something!"

"Or even better! They should call a priest so he can bring a gallon of holy water—!"

"Did you hear that, Bloody? A priest is going to come and when he's done, you'll be back in Hell where you belong."

"We have to get the fuck out of—!" she had started to say, but her eyes widened and again she took her hand to her mouth. "Sorry. I shouldn't curse." New tears starting forming brand new waves, before falling down to the green grass below, it was as if every time she cursed, someone punched her in the gut.

What was this about cursing? Since when did she care about it? Confused, Crona decided to simply say something that would make her stop. "It's—" But the sound of something hitting the hard ground was heard. The sound of the swing's chains clinking was heard. And after that, little gasps for air were heard.

"We have to get out of here, now!" Again her head was bowed. But the words that escaped her mouth were in such a harsh, glass screeching tone. It _had _to have hurt her throat. Mary turned her back on the scene and started moving.

It could've been a funny sight or a pathetic sight. The redhead tried to escape the embarrassing memory by kicking at the air. When that didn't work she tried to walk like normally. Then—

The rubber band was stretched further.

When nothing helped she kicked and thrashed. She tried to swim in the air and away from the scene, but she couldn't. If she were free to move then it would've seemed as if chains were holding her back, not allowing any escape.

Her face was as red as her hair, her neck was the ugly shade as well, even some veins had bulged out due to the fact that she was screaming—screaming as if she was being tortured.

A flash of determination suddenly possessed Crona's features. He had to make her stop. Enough was enough. Crona was slow to act on situations where he didn't know the full cause of. Now he had an _idea. _The first thing to do was to stop this tantrum. If he allowed this tantrum to go any further…well…the girl looked like she was about to literally explode. Remarkably, Crona was able to glide over to where Mary was thrashing and kicking, he didn't pay attention to this odd and seemingly cruel fact. Now there was a problem. How to get a hold of her, after all he didn't want to set her off by grabbing her incorrectly. After a moment of contemplating, Crona decided to grab her by the stomach, similar to the way Mary had grabbed him back at the mall. He set his hands apart and slightly kicked at the air to get near. In a heartbeat he had gotten a hold of the red-faced girl. But his problems were just beginning….Mary turned around and began to aimlessly slap. Whether she knew it was Crona or not didn't matter. In her defense, she was uncomfortable and frustrated, she didn't care who she was hurting. Crona wasn't surprised that this aggression was happening, he'd be more surprised if she had frozen the moment he grabbed him.

Unfortunately, Mary didn't show any mercy. She kicked, slapped, and punched. But Crona took all the hits, and kept his hands in place. Frozen and unmoving, showing no emotions on the outside, his body only rocked side to side, back and forward by the force of the girl's strikes. The only thing that was on Crona's mind was concerning the aftermath of this outburst. He didn't know how to deal with the tears she might shed, the guilt she might feel. How would he respond? Would she want space to herself? Would she…leave?

All things must come to an end. Mary isn't the most athletic person in the world, the only reason she had been able to keep up with her rhythm was due to the anger she was feeling. She eventually slowed down and ceased to hit. Crona felt her hot breath hitting his chest where her head was resting. _Here it comes… _Crona thought, anticipating the result. It only got worse when minutes began to pass and nothing came out of Mary's mouth. Her breath had slowed and now she was breathing through her nose; her body movement had stopped to be like a statue. That's what they both were. Statues at a scene of an unfortunate event, made to gaze at nothing for the rest of their lives.

Finally she said something, "I'm sorry."

Those two words didn't set in right. Crona could've been expecting a sort of apology, but this apology was bland and apathetic. It's like she didn't even _care _that she had just severely hurt him, both physically and emotionally. The least she could've done was cry and sputter countless apologies. But no, instead there was this monotonous, ungrateful voice. _I'm sorry? _Well, she wasn't going to get an "I forgive you" that's for sure!

When she didn't hear a response from Crona, she raised the one eye that wasn't still covered by his robe and looked up at him. She didn't see much obviously, but her brow furrowed. Why hadn't he accepted her apology? That wasn't a question that was fretted by for too long, because as soon as two seconds passed by, a warm and kind smile spread across Mary's face.

"Aaah, this is turning me on."

Uncomfortable silence was the only thing that followed between the two meisters. Crona's face was painted red; it looked like a kid attacked his face with a red paintbrush. For some reason he involuntarily brought her closer to his chest, when in reality, he should push her away and checked to see if she had lost her sanity. First she has as much emotion as a brick, but now she sounds like she's in a Jacuzzi. Hurray!

Crona couldn't help but remove the oddly warm girl from his hold. He stared at her to find her face equally as red and with a goofy smile. It looked like she was drunk, which would make more sense. "W-What did you say…?" Crona asked unsurely, hoping that Mary would shout out 'boo' and dismiss it all as a joke.

But no.

"I said that you're turning me on!" she yelled out in a shameless manner.

Fortunately for Crona the sound of skin hitting skin were audible down below. Crona shuddered, knowing very well what was happening. There weren't any screams, so he could assume that Mini Mary didn't have her black blood, so that must mean that she hadn't met him yet.

The young girl down below was now screaming for help. Screaming to the adults to help her, but the screams continued without stopping. Mary was still staring at Crona, not even paying the slightest bit of attention to her former self below. Her gaze was making Crona extremely uncomfortable now. He felt uneasy at being the center of attention.

"Please…please leave me alone…I'll do anything…" Another strike was heard. "I'll give you money…" And another. "I'll do your homework." Another… "What do you _want _from me?!"

"To get the hell out of town, ya bitch."

"FUCK!"

"Don't curse," came a small little voice. Crona's eyes widened. "God won't like you if you do. You'll never be loved if you do. Don't curse," a small giggle escaped her lips. "Don't curse you stupid bitch."

It was as if times slowed down; Crona was stuck in his position, mouth dropped, eyes widened, heart accelerating. _She didn't just say that._

"Mary…"

The giggling got louder. The redhead's face was being covered by her bangs, a curtain to shield away the hysteria. "She'll never learn. Stupid little—" She stopped when something grabbed the collar of her shirt, the same shirt that Arachne had ironed. She ceased all emotions, all sounds, her bangs continued to shield. "Ah, Crona, what brings you here?"

"Snap out of it, Mary." It was as if it wasn't Crona at all. Maybe it was an imposter; it couldn't possibly be the same being.

Her head lifted up by a few inches as if trying to get a better look at the orange sky. Crona's brave façade was destroyed when Mary's mouth spread into a crazed demonic smile, showing off all teeth, and emitting danger. "Want to see more of my pain? My misery? You _can, _just continue watching."

Crona's grip on her shirt softened; this couldn't be the same person. An imposter—a possession—anything but Mary. There was only one thing to ask, "Mary…?"

The girl lifted her head, her bangs returning to their rightful place, as her name was called. "Yes?" Her eyes seemed scratched, just as the heads and bodies of the ones she had forgotten in this dreadful day.

The rubber band was at its limit, one more stretch and it would snap.

What happened next was unexpected.

The hand that held her shirt was quickly removed, now that no one was holding her she could go back to floating, but that didn't happen. Two pale hands wrapped themselves on the girl and pulled her close to whom they belong to. Crona made sure to duck her head below his chin, not wanting to see her reaction if it didn't change. He decided that actions spoke louder than words now. This had a chance of working. After all, hugs had worked before.

Many minutes had passed by and Crona was starting to worry. Had his move worked? Was she calm now? Would she return to normal?

"Mar—"

"Thank you," her voice quivered again, filled with raw emotion. She brought her own hands around him. "Thank you…but…please…let's leave…" She brought herself closer, so close that Crona was able to feel the wetness of her tears. "Let's go back…"

It didn't happen. They didn't "go back". They simply stayed there, floating in the air. Finally, the park was deserted minus Mini Mary. After the kids left and being perpetually ignored by their parents, she picked herself up and sat back down on her swing. With her foot, she nudged herself back and forward.

Crona watched as she picked up her speed and started swinging herself freely with a shy smile on her lips. She seemed to be enjoying her time on the swing. The pink-haired meister wondered what Big Mary was thinking about. He took a peek at the redhead's face and noticed that she was casting a comical glare to her former self. Crona couldn't help his scolding, "Mary!"

She didn't respond—her glare only intensified. Crona sighed and rendered her as having a minor mood swing. Something poked at his brain though…what were they doing here? The simple thought of floating around in a past memory was difficult to accept, but the reason as to _why _they're watching it, and _how _they both ended up here was insanely weird. Crona decided to interrogate Mary. He focused on the ground below and found that some random force complied, and set him down on the ground.

It listens to him, but not Mary. How very unfortunate.

"Mary, we have to talk," he whispered.

Mary had dropped her weird glaring after a minute of doing it, finding it "too much work". All she was doing now was looking tired and bored, the situation leaving no mental effect. She acted as if she was in the middle of a boring class, looking at her open textbook, hoping the words would float from the pages and entertain her in some way. This was no classroom. This was an abnormality.

She drew her eyes away from the grass and looked up at Crona. "What about?" she asked, in a voice that matched her mood and physical stance.

"Do you remember…" Crona stopped his question when he realized the grave mistake.

Mary apparently caught on pretty fast when she noticed his pause. She grew very angry, very quick. "Oh, I see how it is!" She promptly crossed her arms against her chest and 'humphed'.

All Crona did was giggle after he noticed the former pout, then kick at the grass, seeming playful. "Sorry, sorry," Crona said as he suppressed his laughter, "I didn't mean it _that _way." It was an inside joke. Asking Mary to remember something was a joke. Anyone who began to question her with _do you remember_ would only bring laughter to the ones who knew her, and of course, Mary herself would laugh at the beginning.

And that's exactly what she was doing now. Laughing at her expense. "It's fine!" After a few more laughing fits, Crona has stopped, and was waiting for Mary's excessive and unnecessary laughing fits to stop as well. It got to the point where she began coughing, and Crona trying to stop her was only making it worse. She finally stopped, though.

"But, no, I _don't _remember what I did to end up in this stupid memory," she confessed as she sat down on the grass, cross-legged.

Crona invited himself to sit down next to her, thinking of his next question. "Mary…do you know if you're memory can be remembered again?"

"Uhhhh…."

"Can it be triggered by anything relevant to it?"

"Hm?" She cupped her chin with her hand. "I dunno."

"Can we try it?" Crona asked with new determination.

It was quickly diminished to blushing and incoherent stuttering when Mary ruined the moment. "But Crona…we're not married yet…"

"M-Mary this is serious!"

All she did was laugh. "Sorry, sorry, I'll be serious now."

"Ok…" Crona tried again. This time without anything that can be taken in any _weird _ways. "We were in the changing room and my head—" He stopped abruptly. If he said that his head was on her lap, and if she didn't remember that…there was no doubt that she would resort to laughing on the floor.

"Don't worry. I remember that. I just don't remember what happened _after._"

"So…" He frowned, trying to understand her. "One second we were in the changing room…and there's just a gap between before and now?"

"Pretty much!" she agreed sagely, with her eyes closed for some reason.

Crona could do nothing but sigh. He perked up when Mary started speaking. "Hey Crona…we're all alone. We could totally—"

Before she could surprise him with any suggestions, he quickly said, "Your past self is here!" He pointed at the young girl who was still on the swing. But the second Crona saw her; he realized just how damaged her face was.

Mary looked back at him, pouting. "I was going to suggest we play a game, but I see how it is!"

Crona gasped. "Mary."

"What?"

"Look at your face."

"But…" She frowned. "I don't have a mirror."

Crona shook his head side to side, and didn't look back up at the horror. "I meant…_her._"

As Mary looked up at her smaller self she simply sighed. "Yeah, I know. But I've had worse." Then she heard footsteps and a loud gasp. "And now Rebecca's here." She rolled her eyes. "Time for the yelling."

And that's exactly what happened. Rebecca yelled, cursed, and kicked a poor rock in her rage. She threatened to call the police; threatened to bring Mary's dad into this; threatened to call the kids parents. All Mini Mary would do in Rebecca's fury was cry and utter apologies. Mini Mary plead her aunt not to do anything. All things Rebecca didn't want to hear.

At the end, Rebecca took Mini Mary away, and all Big Mary did was whistle. She stopped whistling when she heard sobs from Crona.

"Crona?" she asked, still nonchalant. "Why are you crying?"

"W-W-What do you mean, 'why'?" Crona took his hand to his face and continued to sob. "Y-Y-Y-You—"

She shrugged and looked at the monkey bars. "I got used to it. This was only the beginning of my torment."

"How can you be so—?" he paused for a second to find the correct word. He decided not to say anything and continue to hold his sobs.

"Crona…look it's fine. I'm right here." She gestured at herself. "I got better."

Tears from his face were scattered amongst the ground again when Crona shook his head. "This…this isn't right!"

To this, she frowned. "Well, what happened to _you _wasn't so nice either!" For some reason she hated the fact that Crona was crying and complaining about her past being unfair.

"What are you implying?" Crona whispered, only staring at the ground, his eyes overshadowed.

"What I'm trying to say is that your past was worse than mine." A smile was displaced. "So you shouldn't be crying."

"Idiot."

"…What?"

"YOU'RE AN IDIOT!" Crona yelled. And those words hung in the air for quite a while; echoing.

The only reason she didn't cry over this insult was because the word wasn't strong enough. Unlike Hero calling her a bitch, this was Crona calling her an idiot. Both the word and the person would to be taken into account. Hero was the one who expressed his love for her in any moment, his insult to her hurt because of the word's meaning and the person. Crona on the other hand, was a crush that she had. Mary wondered if the boy liked her back, but decided to drown her chances by raining insults upon herself, believing that the boy would never like her. The insult though was a low, childish word that barely scratched the surface.

But then again, Mary wasn't always in the same mood. Instead of crying over the fact that her crush called her an idiot, she was angry at being called an idiot by someone who she believed was being the idiot. Assuming she was growing too comfortable near him... "Why am _I _the idiot?! You're the one crying for no reason!"

Crona completed snapped. She had just bombed his actions; it was time to strike back. "What do you want me to do?! Do you want me to smile and sing for just watching this?! Do you think I feel happy?!" He sent her a death glare that made Mary's anger subside—casting a dark shadow that froze her. "I don't like this! _I don't like what they did to you!_"

Mary, ashamed, looked at the ground. "Crona…I'm…I'm…" She choked on her words and began to leak tears. _I hate myself, _she thought.

Crona took hugged his knees and took a shaky breath. "I-I care about you…" he said with a slight blush on his cheeks. "Even if this happened in the past…I don't like seeing it…"

"I'm so sorry," she apologized as she slowly shook her head.

He shook his head as well, though he didn't know why. In reality she _should _be apologizing, but was it really her fault for saying that? Was it her belief? Or was she really just insane? "You were just defending yourself…I shouldn't have called you an idiot. I'm sorry." As he thought more about it, he realized why it had caused a reflex. She had just witnessed her own beating; those kids had called her a demon, an unholy creature from Hell. He shouldn't really be calling her anything after this, no matter what crazy statements she said. But Crona wasn't simply going to let her get away with thinking that her past was irrelevant compared to his. What a stupid belief.

"I'm such a pile of shit—" Again her eyes widened. The new response she took every time she said a bad word. And again she took her hand to her mouth as if trying to suppress the urge to vomit.

Crona stopped sobbing and was now simply hiccupping, staring at Mary dully to see what would happen next. To his surprise she started crying. Crona was felt his own tears brewing, but he decided to suck it up and comfort her. This was torture. Having a petty fight was making her worse. And to top it all off Crona was here to make it all the more uncomfortable. But he was set on making it better.

After all, if horrid memories were to be shown, he should make the best of the company she got stuck with. Crona would have to show Mary that his unwanted presence would turn out to be a good thing.

As Crona hugged Mary he couldn't help but imagine what it would be like if Mary were here alone. Would she be off worse?

Well, considering the fact that she snuggled into Crona would render that hypothesis to be horribly incorrect.

"No, you're not," was all Crona could muster up to say. God, this was awkward.

"I don't know…why this happened to me…" Her shoulders shook. "Rebecca didn't make things any better…She only made me nervous…saying that she'd call the police and call the kids mothers…" This time she decided to look at Crona. Seeking comfort. "I was so scared…I thought that would make it worse. I-I always pleaded her to not do anything. That _I _would fix it." She suddenly wiped the tears away from her face and smiled. "But it worked out at the end, you know?" Her giggle rang in the air. "Because after _that_…

"I was indestructible."

* * *

**Author's Note: **What can I say? :/

Thank you for reading! You guys are still awesome and will forever be!


	34. Second Crescent Moon - Sally

**Author's Note: **I feel like a douche bag!

Hero: Good.

I'm so sorry for the long wait! And I will explain why! Please hear me out, because this is important and will explain the long absences for the following chapters!

Okay, remember chapter 33? And remember the six weeks in which I was missing? Yeah, well, I was actually working one chapter ahead in those weeks, which explains why chapter 33 was kinda different. Because I actually had _time _to write it! With all the other chapters—they're written in Mary's POV. Now, I don't know if you've noticed, but Mary is an idiot. So with her POV, I could be as silly as I want, because that's just how she is. But when I'm in third person POV, I have to be serious, because the point of them is to be as descriptive as possible for my readers.

Can you imagine chapter 33 in Mary's POV?

I'll wait…

You see what I mean?

Hero: No…

It'd be awful! Now, the only excuse I have is that I need _time _to write the other "(Number) Crescent Moon" chapters, since they need to be as pro as possible.

Hero: Pro?

Yes, pro. And I am sorry if the waits are annoying you! I don't blame you! Because I usually have a schedule for chapters, and so my readers aren't accustomed to long waits.

Hero: Can we just get to the chapter already?

No! Wait! Two more things. Thank you guys! For your reviews~, and your favorites~, and follows~, and all that other good stuff!

Hero: You don't deserve it!

You are evil… And the last thing.

I AM SORRY.

Hero: You are such a whiner.

And you're mean.

Hero: I want to see my love!

Oh her. Yeah, go on ahead. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :D

* * *

There wasn't much to inspect besides the black dresses and suits surrounding a headstone. Carved in it was "Sally Roman" and below it, the date in which she was born to the day she died.

Right away, Crona turned his head to Mary for any information, but the look on her face said it all. The girl was horrified. She looked as if she was experiencing physical pain, maybe in her chest?—abdomen? Crona knew it wasn't physical, but emotional.

"Mary…" Crona began but stopped when he felt something smack his head.

Ragnarok hadn't made any appearances since the mall, and what a good choice of him not to. No doubt his presence would cause nothing but chaos. But the small black blooded creature had come here to scold Crona. "Idiot, what do you think you're doing?"

Well, he hadn't really _done _anything yet; he had just said her name. "W-What do you mean?"

When they both heard a choking sound they turned their heads. Mary was crying. Tears' streaming down her cheeks, but her face was still paralyzed with the same expression. Her eyes were fierce for some reason, and her teeth gritted. Crona was beyond confused, as always. He looked up at Ragnarok for a clue. "This is a funeral, dumbass!"

Naw! "I know that," Crona answered, frowning, not in the mood for Ragnarok's insults.

"So! Make your move!" he hissed. And before Crona could ask anything, Ragnarok return to wherever Ragnarok's go to.

Crona sighed. He tried to analyze the scene with more depth before he jumped to any conclusions. Below is the same grass as the park, a bright green that's swaying with the wind. The wind blowing at the funeral attendants' attire to the side. From this angle Crona couldn't see much, just a bunch of black-dressed people standing around. It was obviously a funeral. The priest with a book in hand made that clear, and the diggers were standing by as well. But a funeral for who, exactly?

He tried talking to the only one who knew again. "Mary, where are we?"

But, alas, the redhead simply stood there, and didn't answer his question. She did move, though, which could be noted as a sign of adaptation. She took her sweater's sleeve and rubbed it against her eyes, clearing away all the tears. "We're…" she began, sleeve still at her face. "We're at my sister's funeral."

Crona's eyes widened in shock, he immediately looked down below again and somehow made out the name in the gravestone. An S and an A were barely seen. "I-I'm so sorry…" Crona said, glumly.

"It's fine!" she replied, almost hysterically. "I just didn't know that we would come _here_!"

Crona realized what he was dealing with. Mary was back to her hysterical states. It wasn't the same as in the park, where they were sitting and simply chatting away, trying to forget what they both had experienced. He knew that that memory wouldn't be the only one. There were others. How many? He didn't know.

"Take me down there," she said, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"W-What?" he asked, startled.

"I said to take me down there," she repeated, a little more demanding. When she realized that Crona was not doing anything, she added, "Please…I just…I don't know." And thus, she hung her head low.

Crona quirked one eyebrow in confusion. He didn't know how it felt like to lose someone he loved.

Death.

The word so familiar in meaning. Someone's body withers away until there's nothing but bones, and you never see them again. No more talking, no more playing. It's all over when they die. But…to _experience _those thoughts of never getting to see the one you love again. The memories flowing back, replaying in your head until you're sobbing and trying to desperately breathe as your breath is used to gasp air, that is used to cry some more. Memories make the death of a loved one harder to deal with. And that's what Crona didn't know. And quite frankly, he didn't _want _to.

But, when it comes to that, wouldn't Mary want to get away from this memory as soon as possible? Why does she want to get closer? Why does she want to see her parent's crying? Her small self crying?

_Wait! _Crona thought, whipping his head back to the mass. _Was _Mini Mary down there? Is that why Big Mary wants to join in? Because she wasn't there when she was smaller?

Well, Crona wasn't going to answer any of his questions if he didn't take Mary to where she wanted to. Crona extended his hand, but Mary didn't take it. When Crona looked at her, he realized that she was _sleeping?_

What the hell?

"Mary?" Crona asked, unsure if she was sleeping or just had her eyes closed.

But no. Sleeping, she was.

Crona frowned, upset and irritated. He took her by the shoulders and shook her. "Mary, wake up!" How rude! Honestly! Who sleeps at a funeral?

Mary moaned as she awoke. When she noticed Crona, she put up a hand and waved. "Good morning, Crona! What brings you here?"

Crona paused and simply stared—not amused. He then took her hand and glided down to the bottom. "Oh, just come on."

"Oh!" she said, excited. "Are we going to swim?"

"What? No!"

"Ohhh. We're going to Jurassic Park!"

Crona simply shook his head in disappointment.

When they neared the huddled masses, Mary gasped and said, "Ah, this is Sally's funeral."

Now she was completely nonchalant! Crona wanted to smack his forehead. "Yes." He turned to her, now completely serious, not wanting to hear any more jokes. "Mary…do you mind telling me who Sally is?"

Mary stared at him, no emotions displayed. Then she walked up to him. Crona's heart raced in anticipation. What was she going to do? Whisper it to him? He couldn't deal with the sudden invasion of privacy!

But no.

Mary neared his ear and licked his cheek.

She just licked his cheek.

What.

Crona paled and his knees gave out. He dropped to the floor in shock. And Ragnarok came to the rescue. "What the hell, Ginger? Don't lick my meister! You can have germs!"

"That's right!" Mary said, enthusiastically. "I have Mary Germs!"

"What the fu—" But Ragnarok didn't get to finish. Assuming these memories ran on a timer, the scene shifted. The sun whom was descending was immediately replaced by the bleeding moon; the black masses were now gone, being replaced by crooked trees.

Mary eagerly looked around, similar to a cat, and then gasped. She hit her palm with her fist. "We're in a forest!"

"No shit, Sherlock!" yelled Ragnarok, exasperated. "Crona, get up, you pansy!"

"Mary…licked…me…" Crona was whispering to the dirty forest ground. The poor meister was still so shocked.

"That's right! Mary did!"

"Since when do you speak in third person?!" Ragnarok sighed and turned to his meister. "C'mon, Crona. Just get up. I can't deal with your crazy girlfriend anymore."

Crona was about to say something unintelligible when he suddenly heard a small voice. "Sally! Sally where are you!?" Crona flew up and scanned around. He didn't know where this voice came from, but it sounded eerily familiar. And that name again. Sally? Wasn't she just dead? Buried underground? Being cried upon by her loved ones?

"Mary," Crona said as he neared the still-happy girl. "I need you to be serious now, please."

Mary cocked her head to the side and stared at Crona with curious eyes. "Crona…"

"What?"

"You…" Crona swallowed, anticipating the truth, a secret, anything! "You're so cute!" she exclaimed as she placed herself next to him and gave him a small hug. Crona froze. But Mary continued. "All right, then!" She went forward like a soldier. "Let's find my small self!"

Crona shook his head and tried to ignore what Mary had just said and done, he could worry about their weird relationship later. "What do you mean your 'small self'? That voice…it was you?"

"Yup!"

"And you're looking for Sally, your sister, right?"

"My small sister to be exact!" she corrected with a finger.

"Right, sorry."

"No worries, love!" she said, almost jumping in the air.

Crona waited for any other voice, he was about to ask another question when he noticed a small version of Mary running towards them.

"Hey, it's me!"

"Will she see us?"

"Crona, I've seen this type of thing in movies. The past self never sees the future self," Mary said, proud of her movie knowledge. But then she added as an afterthought, "Though…there are some movies were that's not the case." She narrowed her eyes while she rubbed her chin and thought it over.

But Mini Mary zoomed by them without noticing their presence, yelling out again, "Sally, where are you?!"

"Let's follow her—you!"

"Yes, sir!" Mary complied, saluted like a soldier, and followed.

After a while of pushing away leaves and almost tripping on tree roots that seemed to want to kill them, Crona suddenly stopped when he saw what Mini Mary was staring at. And Mary, nearing and not looking, bumped into Crona and fell to the floor. "Ow," she muttered, getting up again. She grabbed her nose. "Crona, why did you sto—?" She answered her own question when she walked up next to him and looked up, seeing what her past self and Crona were staring at.

Her mind seemed to click as she recognized the figure. And somehow, she was able to see it with clearer eyes.

Sally Roman was obviously hung. An old rope was tied to the only tree branch this old, worn tree had. And the other end of the rope was in a circled shape, tied to the fragile neck of the dead girl. Her face was darkly shadowed by the tree's own shadow. But Mary noted the shiny saliva seeping from her mouth and making its way down her chin.

There's your sister.

Mini Mary staggered back, her eyes still on the body that seemed to be threatening to fall on her. "S-Sally?" she asked, as if she expected her sister to break into a smile again.

Crona gave small little gasps, him too, staggering for some reason. He was in a state of shock; he couldn't believe that this was a small five-year-old. And that this was her death. Crona didn't know what type of death he was expecting—maybe a car accident? A failing heart? But not…_this._

Mini Mary had had about enough. Her eyes were leaking tears, though; she was still somewhat paralyzed with fear. She ran away from the scene and was extra clumsy with getting back to the police. Crona followed her, not caring if Mary was behind him or not. And while running through the claustrophobic trees, Crona was living the same fear that this small six year-old was living. How she felt like someone was going to grab her from behind and do the same thing. How the unearthed tree roots were trying to grab her ankles and pull her back. How the dark and crooked trees wanted to snap from the ground and fall on her. But it wasn't just the vegetation—it was the darkness. The inevitable darkness that wanted to swallow this small girl whole; to summon the terrifying creatures of the night that would poison her or take their time to rip her up, to shred her skin until there's nothing left but bone to gnaw on. The shadows that wanted to be lifted from the boring ground, and have some fun tormenting the only person left alive in the forest.

But that didn't seem to be her problem. As Crona caught up with Mini Mary, he noted her breathing. Now, it could be that she's been running for a while, but there was also something else. The way she looked around, scanning the area. Crona couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it seemed that Mini Mary was afraid of something specifically. She seemed to be looking for something in specific. Truth be told, these are the roots of Mary Roman's greatest fear. Her eyes were scanning for help. Civilization. Her parents. The police. Anyone really, who can help her get her sister away from that tree and to the hospital. But there's no one in this forest. There is only her, and Crona's seemingly invisible body, who cannot do anything, even if he wanted to. As her eyes continued to frantically look around, her breathing worsened, and she realized that there was no one there to help her. There were only trees. Bugs. Foliage. And the occasional nocturnal creatures. No humans. And that's what she needed.

When they both escaped the forest, Mini Mary ran towards her parents. The sight of humanoid figures gave her more energy to run.

"Mom, dad!" she yelled, nearing her parents. Crona noticed how Rebecca didn't turn her head as fast as a tall, red haired woman whom was next to Mary's dad did. "She's dead! She's been hanged!" the little girl screamed furiously at the adults. They all stared at her in shock, unmoving. They eyed each other, in their heads, somehow, agreeing to believe. Mini Mary tugged at her dad's shirt. "Please, dad, c'mon! You have to save her!"

Crona looked down at the floor and tried to not cry. She didn't know…that her little sister couldn't be brought back.

"Sweetie," the brown haired woman dropped to the ground. Crona stared at Rebecca through watery eyes and wondered. All Rebecca did was pull the small girl into her chest. She waved at Mary's dad and the police to go and search, while she hugged the child. Her eyes were leaking as well, Crona noted.

As everyone else went to the other side in which Mini Mary had stormed out of, Crona neared the two girls and stared at them. He felt his heart constrict as Rebecca ran her fingers through Mary's red hair, and whispered that everything would be all right. Crona allowed himself to let out all his emotions next to them. Rebecca was keeping hers tightly locked, so the small child couldn't see the reality of it all.

Crona stopped though, when he noticed Big Mary coming out from the forest. Her movements were that of a drunk; her feet roughly stomping the ground with every step, her arms swaying back and forward, and her eyes downcast. When she made it to Crona, she fell to her knees and revealed her eyes.

Bloodshot. Teary. Rubbed. Red.

"She…" Mary struggled to say as she hiccupped. "She's…" Crona stared at her, his heart in even more pain as it constricted with each word. "SHE'S DEAD."

Mary threw herself on Crona, and—not caring about being tough for her—hugged her back.

They cried, screamed, and let everything out into the night.

* * *

Crona's eyes scrutinized when something bright hit them. He opened his eyes slowly, trying to adapt to the sudden change. He assessed the situation and decided to wake up Mary. They had fallen asleep on each other, still hugging, yet gravity failed them, and they had both fallen to the soft grass. No doubt, Ragnarok was going to tease him about finally sleeping with her.

Mary woke up with a start. Crona had woken up before, roughly, catapulting in an upright position, but he had never catapulted and shot to his feet before!

"I'M NOT A TURTLE, I SWEAR!" were Mary's first words when she awoke. Crona looked at her in confusion. Was that a dream she was having? Or some random statement she always says when she comes to?

"Mary…" Crona began as he rose himself off the ground.

"Crona!" Mary said, surprised. "You exist!"

Again, Crona shook his head in disappointment, though there was a small trace of humor on his lips. "There's nothing happening," he told her.

"This is true," she said as she nodded.

Crona shrugged. "Where do you suppose we go?"

Mary scanned the space and laid her eyes on her house. "In there, man! I want some cookie dough!" And thus, Mary ran like small child.

Crona sighed. He slowly ran up to the house, and his mind couldn't help but wander to "yesterday's" events. Had it been just yesterday? It didn't feel like it. He didn't even know where they were, exactly! He shook his head to clear away all his thoughts. He had to focus on the new memory at hand. So far, things seemed to be going backwards. First it was the funeral, then Sally's death. Yep, things _were _going backwards. Though, Crona wondered what was left to show. Was there _really _something else? The curiosity kept him going, and he increased his speed and even made it to the front door before Mary.

The girl groaned and took her knees. "Aww, you cheated!"

Once they entered the house, they were met by Mini Mary and Sally. Now that Sally wasn't dead and showered by shadows, Crona was able to take note of her appearance. She didn't seem to resemble Mary much—she looked adopted. Even the supposed red hair that the CMPC were supposed to have was a dark orange hue. And her eyes were unmistakably brown, just like her aunt's.

Sally had a serious expression. Her brows furrowed, her eyes strong, and her body stiff. She was staring intently at her sister. Speaking of her sister, she was sitting at the dinner table, staring down at the glass material.

Big Mary startled the hell out of Crona when she said, "I don't remember this," with a slight saddened and confused expression.

Sally began, "Sis…"

"What do you want, Sally?" Mini Mary snapped.

Sally was a little taken back by her sister's cold attitude, but kept her brave front. "You know it's not fair."

"What are you blabbing about?" she grumbled.

"I'm sick of it! That's what!" Sally yelled, and Mini Mary cringed at the ferocity in her sister's voice. "I'm sick of mom's friends coming in for dinner and thinking I'm your cousin!"

"And what do you want _me _to do, huh?"

"I want you to fix it!" she confessed, gripping both of her hands close to her chest, her eyes watery. "I want to be a Roman!"

"You are!" Mini Mary roared, her hand smacked the dinner table in anger. "You _are _a part of this family!"

"Then why don't I have the crescent moons! I want them too! Like you and dad!" Sally paused to grip her chest again, and yelled as an afterthought, "Even dad's partner has them!"

"And why do you want them!? In school, kids make fun of me because of this!" she yelled as she pointed at the unholy eye.

"So? I want it too!"

"Don't you say that!" she yelled out, stepping closer.

"I do, though!"

"Shut up, Sally!"

"No! Sis, I—"

"What is going on in here?" Rebecca's voice scolded from behind.

"Sally's being an idiot!"

"'Am not!"

"Are too!"

"That is enough!"

Sally, cringed, and her tears began to freely spill to the ground. "I…I…" And then Sally bumped her sister's shoulder on the way out.

Rebecca yelled after her, "Sally, don't go too far!"

Mini Mary turned, and the last thing she saw, was Sally's decreasing body going inside the right side of the forest.

Both Rebecca and Mini Mary slowly disappeared from the picture, and Crona noticed that he was back again in the Roman's front yard. The wind was picking up a breeze, the grass swaying at their feet.

Crona couldn't believe the fight that Mini Mary and Sally had. Was that…what caused Sally to hang herself? _Did _she even hang herself? She didn't leave with a rope! So where did she get it from?

Crona said the only word he could muster, hoping that the owner of the name could continue the conversation. "Mary…"

"I know. It's my fault she died."

The words hit Crona like a slap in the face. _Her fault? _Did she really just outright blame herself for her sister's death? Or was it just the cheap way out of an explanation?

"It couldn't be your fault alone could it?"

"It is. I got her mad. And she went ahead and killed herself because of it." This explanation seemed forced. As if Mary herself didn't believe what she was saying, but the memories all connected and gave that away as the only possible explanation.

"Mary…I'm sorry this is happening to you," Crona said, trying to make his friend feel better. All this seemed to be one whole memory in total. Which makes two torturous experiences that they both went through. "And I've only made it worse," he said, getting choked up.

Mary looked at him. She smiled at the ground, a little shy for some reason. "Don't worry about it Crona. I've already lived through this. It just stings to have it all brought back so suddenly. You've made it better actually," she whispered.

"I have?" he asked, surprised. It didn't seem right. Did Mary really remember all this? Or had she forgotten? No, no! Crona shook his head. How can she forget a fight that led to her sister's death? How could she forget seeing her sister's hung body? And there's no way that she could forget her funeral! It's obvious that these are memories that Mary would never forget. And if she somehow did, then she will be forced to experience them again. Yet…the first memory was definitely Mary's, so was this one the same? Were all the upcoming one's always from _her _head, or was some godly spirit—? Nah! Crona concluded that these _are _Mary's own memories. There's no other explanation. All he had to do now was find out why they were experiencing them.

She nodded. "Without you, I would've gone insane a looong time ago." She chuckled.

Crona sniffed and decided to stay strong and not cry for her sake. Crying seemed to be contagious.

"Thank you, Crona." She threw herself on him. "You've made this durable. Thank you."

Crona returned the hug and wept shamelessly. "I-I'm s-s-sorry! I'm d-d-dirtying your s-s-shirt!"

Mary painfully laughed. "It's fine! I don't really care for clothing!" Well, that came out wrong. _I hope Crona doesn't think that I love being naked or something, _she thought, as she contemplated breaking the hug to smack her forehead.

Suddenly, Mini Mary appeared out of Mary's field of vision. She had caught Sally whom was cheerfully running away. "I have you now!"

Sally laughed. "Alright! Now _you _have to run!"

But then Rebecca opened the door and yelled, "C'mon girls, it's lunch time!"

Crona decided to not ask what was happening, because he knew and he didn't want to break this moment for Mary with silly questions.

The unholy eye reflected the two siblings who were hand in hand and out of breath from playing for hours. Mary could be in heaven right now. Seeing her past self and her small sister, playing around in the grass, completely innocent to the world. They were in their own world, playing around, having fun, enjoying their flesh and bones. It was bliss. The crescent moon analyzed Sally, who was whining, "Aww! I wanted to continue playing!"

"Don't worry, Sally," Mini Mary said, putting her hand on her sister's shoulder. "We have all the time in the world to play."

This caused the young girl's face to beam with happiness. "Really, sis? You promise?"

With Sally's pinkie sticking out, Mini Mary smiled and intertwined her pinkie with hers.

"I promise!"

* * *

**Author's Note: **…

Hero: What the hell!? My poor Mary!

…

Hero: What type of bullshit is this?

…

Hero: Why are you writing dots?

:D

Hero: YOU DEVIL.

Hope you guys enjoyed ^_^

Hero: Do you get some kind of sick feeling out of this? :o

…

Hero: HELP. I AM BEING HELD BY A CRAZY PERSON.

The door's right there, you know.

Thank you for reading :D

See you next time on…

Tainted!


	35. Third Crescent Moon - Adriana

**Author's Note: **Let me take some time to answer some reviews.

Thank you Cookehz! I'm glad you enjoy this story! :D That's always a great compliment to hear!

I'm sorry, black blood insanity, but there won't be a dragon. :(

Thank you, Aoni, for complimenting the chapter! :)

And anyone else who might just be reading—thank you for actually taking your time to read this piece of work. Really means a lot :]

Hope this was worth the wait! :D

* * *

Now the two were in a large basketball court. A total of six basketball hoops were divided amongst the court: three on the right and three on the left. The court itself was a horizontal rectangle that was green with white lines that designed the game. It seemed as if it was PE time. Three coaches were present, Crona noted. One was teaching some students to dance and the other one was walking around, keeping an eye on the students who were on the basketball court. The dance coach and the other coach were in a roof-shaded area, and the last coach was in a tennis court that was a couple of feet away from the basketball court. These two courts were outside, under the vibrant sun.

Again, Crona spotted a young Mary Roman with ease. She had a giant basketball in her hand; she was simply dribbling about, taking the entire room of one of the hoops, while other kids were playing excitedly on others. Mini Mary looked at them, the sadness and longing in her face was obvious. She stopped dribbling and stared at the humongous ball in her hands. She didn't want to be alone, bouncing a ball until it was time for lunch. No. She wanted to join the other kids who were playing with excitement, getting rid of the energy that was stored in their muscles. She yearned to walk with some of the girls who didn't like the sport, who were simple walking around the court and talking to their friends. She didn't have any friends. She was alone.

"Aw man! It didn't send us back!" Crona turned and sweat-dropped when he saw Mary's new expression; she was hunched over in disappointment, slightly pouting as well. It was a major difference by how she was back then. Maybe she was starting to adapt…

"Crona! What are you doing here?!"

The rubber band was released from the hold of the two white gloves; it rejoiced and went back to its old form. But the two gloves took one side on each thumb and waited.

"Mary…" Crona deadpanned, not impressed. "I've _been _here since the beginning."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Hm…" She took a hand to her chin and rubbed it thoughtfully. Suddenly she crashed a fist to her open-palmed hand. "Oh yeah! I remember now!" She turned her hand and her eyes drooped. Her eyes seemed to shine against the sun, and her smile was kind. "Thank you, for keeping me at bay back there. I needed that."

"Oh…" Crona took his signature pose and blushed. "Thank you…"

"Um…no…Thank _you, _Crona."

"O-Oh! Right! I mean, you're welcome." She was still staring intently at him, so he decided to turn back to the scene. "I-I-Is this a bad memory?"

"Oh…" Mary turned to the scene, just realizing that they were in another memory. "Hm…"

Crona turned his head to stare at her. She had her tongue out, and seemed to be in deep thought…or not. It was hard to tell. She didn't look like she was being serious.

"You have to remember," Crona said.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean that these are _your _memories. And this one is pretty detailed. So…it must've been important…right?"

"Yeah…"

"How was it important?"

A single finger was pointed to the ground, Crona's eyes trailed to where it was pointing. He saw a blonde girl with shoulder length hair, walking towards the young redhead. Her arms were at her sides, but she seemed to be hopping. But when Crona leaned forward he realized that he was moving to the ground. He actually landed on the hot asphalt ground and got a closer look at the girl.

She was obviously new. Wearing a white dress instead of the girl's red shirt and red skirt (beige pants for the boys). Now on closer inspection, she wasn't hopping, instead she was stomping, as if she wanted to be heard.

"Adriana…" Mary spoiled.

"That's Adriana?"

"Yep. My first friend."

Crona's heart made a painful beat. Her first friend, eh? If Mary was that girl from before…then she would be Crona's first friend…but Mary already met her first friend. Or…New hope washed over him as he realized something: maybe this is _after _Mary got the black blood and met Crona! But he couldn't be so sure yet…

"Hey there," Mini Adriana greeted.

Mini Mary didn't turn around. She thought that Adriana had greeted someone else. But when Adriana tapped her shoulder Mary jumped and dropped the ball. It rolled away until it was stopped by some grass. Mary didn't turn around to get it; she was too busy staring at the blonde. In her eyes the girl in front of her was an angel—an angel who was sent from the heavens to be entrusted to Mary—an angel befriending a demon.

"O-Oh!" Something Crona noticed right away was that Mini Mary's voice was hoarse. But she coughed to clear it up and started again, "Hi."

Her small bittersweet smile made Crona smile. It was a great thing to see after that…_other _scene. "My name is Adriana," the girl proclaimed with confidence, "what's yours?"

"M-Mary…Mary Roman."

"Nice to meet you, Mary Roman, do you mind if I ask you a question?" Something was off with this Adriana…she seemed too…_formal._

"N-Not at all!" The constant stuttering implied nervousness…she was afraid that this angel was going to fly away and never come back. How badly she wanted to rip off a wing.

"Okay!" She coughed, which reminded Big Mary of how Death the Kid would cough and grab everyone's attention. "Why are you playing basketball alone? Everyone else is hanging out in groups." To prove it she extended an arm to the other kids. The one's on the left who were playing an intense basketball game.

A menacing shadow flashed across her face before flashing a smile to the blonde, afraid that if she kept the grimace for too long, she would run. "I don't have any friends…"

This shocked the blonde. "Wow! Are you serious?" And as if her attitude was rude she coughed again and said, "Sorry. What I meant to say was: how can you have no friends?"

Mini Mary's head dropped. She refused to make eye-contact. Only Sally had asked her that question before, when Rebecca had picked her up from the park along with Sally. The younger sister had carelessly asked the same question and Mary had broken down in tears.

But this time she decided to be brave. The girl was obviously a new student, and it didn't seem like she had talked to the other students, so she still had a chance to make a friend. She put up a brave front and answered, "My eye."

Upon closer inspection Adriana finally realized what she was talking about and was startled so bad that she tripped and fell backwards.

"Are you okay?!" Mini Mary asked, now frightened that Adriana was going to scream 'monster' and run away.

But, of course, she did the opposite. Her lips broke into a wide smile, like a child meeting Santa Claus for the first time. She quickly got up and got all up in Mini Mary's business. "Whoa! That's so cool! This must be a gift that God's given you!"

Mini Mary cocked her head to the side once she'd gotten rid of the shock from someone outside her family holding her. "God?" she inquired.

"Yes, God!" Adriana shook her shoulders. "This is amazing!" She released her and clapped her hands together, as if praying. "Let's be friends, okay?"

Crona was fighting his legs. They wanted to walk forward and intrude on the two young girls' conversation but Crona was afraid that Mary would flip out, so he remained in his place. He gulped and waited for the rest of the conversation to continue but—

* * *

The first thing Crona noticed was the wetness. In a matter of two seconds of being in this new territory he was drenched in water, his robe now stuck to his skin like glue, his hair flattened down and getting into his eyes, his hands trying to clean his face from the water. It was raining _hard. _The sun was nowhere to be found. The clouds were black with a few sparks of lightning dancing across them, zapping what they can find. Crona could barely see, but once he felt a hand grab his elbow, he knew he was safe.

"Mary! Are you alright?" Crona yelled, the rain hitting the grass and stream below, not to mention the lightening was making it very difficult for anyone to hear.

"No! I can't see!" responded an irritated voice. Her bangs were known to be right above her eyes, so he couldn't imagine how she was now with the rain pounding on them.

"Me neither!"

"Awesome!" she responded excitedly.

"Let's go get some cover!"

She simply nodded, and with Crona's help, they made their way to some trees and hid there. Both shivering and rubbing their hands on their shoulders, they sat there, drenched, teeth chattering, waiting for the weather to get better.

"What memory is this?" Crona asked, teeth still chattering uncontrollably. When there was no response he looked over at Mary, finding her motionless with a brooding expression. "Mary?" he called.

She sighed and said, "I don't know why you're here, Crona. These memories are so personal…" She bit her lip, trying to fight any unnecessary tears, but there were too many.

Crona felt ashamed. His presence only made each passing memory all the more uncomfortable for Mary.

What an unfortunate way to get to know her past. Instead of gaining her trust and having her tell him all about it—maybe over dinner—maybe over a boring movie that was simply there to distract them when things got awkward. Or maybe while eating lunch—the food becoming a perfect excuse to look down and keep your mouth busy. But this…_this _was not the way to see everything. Who could be doing this? Is there even a _person _doing this? Why did this even _happen? _Crona had to ask. He had to get to the bottom of things. This was only going to get worse, it seemed. This was the third memory. The light had not returned to take them away. So many different elements! And all to connect in such little time! Each memory had its own time limit. What was it meant to show?

"Mary…" he called out again, determined to find out what was going on. "Do you know _why _we're being shown your past?"

"C-C-C-C-C-" her teeth weren't helping her spill out what she was about to say, "C-Can I…have a hug?" Crona was done showing shock. This is something he must get accustomed to. Does Adriana look surprised whenever Mary says something disturbing? Are Arachne and Eruka getting used to her daily fight with her alarm clock? If he was going to try to get close, he would have to stop being surprised…that was his initial thought at least. But now, it had finally happened without his consent. Crona _wasn't _surprised by the question. Should he be shocked at _himself? _

"S-S-S-Sorry…" she muttered, turning her head to spit some water on the grass. "Stupid question," she commented.

"No," he said, abruptly, "it isn't." Well, he had some spirit to say _that. _But was he going to chicken out when it came to giving the physical intimacy?

No, of course not.

He got on his knees and moved over to the redhead. He paused and took a deep breath. He had to be calm, collected. This had to be done right. There was no need to make a wrong move…it might just set her off. After a deep breath he put his arms around her and brought her close. There was no immediate response from her. They stood there in silence before she reacted. The only thing she did was snuggle up against him, letting out an exhausted, yet relieved breath.

With no conversation, and Crona having run out of bravery to _start _one, he decided to put his cheek against her head.

Calming, was the word for this moment. Sure the rain only got worse, and some pestering drops would somehow end up on their faces and clothes, but the mist the rain was creating was rather nice to inhale. It calmed the mood. But that was about it. Many other things were annoying. The ground was mushy and wet; Crona was _still _confused; Mary had a wedgie; and, best of all, the two had limbs that were falling asleep.

Then…Crona fell to the ground right before sleep was invited. "Ooph!"

Mary was stiff; looking out towards the right at something.

Crona stood up from the ground, dazed, confused, and sleepy. He stood by Mary's side, trying to spot whatever she was looking at. His eyes widened when he saw a small figure at the top of a bridge.

_Oh no._

"Mary…?"

"Hm?"

"Are you going to…I don't know…plummet into the water at high speeds when the currents are clearly not in your favor of surviving?" Mary blinked twice, digesting what Crona had just said. She stared at him, he wasn't being sarcastic. Instead he was simply horrified, staring up at the bridge, not a trace of humor or wittiness in his voice.

Mary, instead of asking about his odd behavior, agreed with simplicity, "Yes!" She didn't give a damn. After all, they were simply looking at the past through her memories. They couldn't change what was happening, and even if they _could _in some way, it would only affect Mary's mindset, and no one wants to screw it up more than it already is.

"We have to stop her—you!" Crona said, forgetting that any changes many in these memories would have a psychological downfall…though…that would be an interesting experiment.

"We can't."

"We have to do something!"

"Crona, please, I've seen this in the movies. I think I know how this works," she dismissed simply, only looking ahead at the misty rain. She took pride in her movie-based knowledge. She turned to face him once again. "Let's just keep cuddling."

Crona, fed up towards her apathy, frowned, stood up, and flew away. Mary, mouth gaping, simply stood there, dumbstruck, watching Crona fly away.

"Well then!" Mary snapped. She stared at the ground for a while before she sighed and made up her mind. "If he tries to screw this up…" With the simple thought of her own sanity, Mary tried to jump and take off, but to no avail. "Why can't I fly?!"

Meanwhile, in the sky, Crona was fighting with the rain that threatened to slow him down and push him back to the ground. He only had one thing on his mind: to find out what was going on at the top of the bridge. No doubt he saw Mini Mary—the red hair was clearly visible even in the distance pass all the gray rain. The eeriness of it all was that the young girl was not moving. Just standing there, head hung low. Crona didn't understand why she was here. But he had an idea.

It was kinda obvious. Why would a small girl be on top of a bridge on a rainy-as-hell day like this? And that's what made the pit of Crona's stomach sink to his feet, which were lading on the bridge. He had to be rational. It didn't make sense to rush into the scene—there was nothing to do. He can't _change _what's happening, and even if he could then it would just screw everything up. But it's _curiosity, _an emotion that cannot be satisfied with ease. As he stared at the young girl he wondered why his stomach was still on the ground. He also felt something tapping the back of his head. A thought. Yes, a thought was tapping, asking to be remembered and attended. But Crona couldn't remember. What had he forgotten?

"CRONA, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY IN THIS WORLD, GET DOWN FROM THAT STUPID BRIDGE AND GET ME UP THERE."

Silly it was to forget about her. It's as if Crona had avoided her on purpose. What was his excuse again?

The young man snapped his head towards the trees that he and Mary were at just a couple of minutes ago. And then he looked back at Mini Mary, who was currently motionless. Crona took an abrupt step forward. He creaked his head to the small child and leaned in. What did she just say?

"Sally."

Yes, he heard it right—a barely audible whisper of her sister's name. Why had she said it though?

Crona forgot about the pissed off redhead on the ground and focused on the latter's past self. And there it was again.

"Sally…" This time her voice cracked. Tears were spilling on the ground and merging with the dead raindrops. "Why did you leave me?" Crona almost felt pity but the dropping of his stomach was silenced when the small girl's saddened face was shattered with a huge smile. And Crona was familiar with that smile. Mary had displayed it other times before. Like when she fought Hero, or, to be more precise, whenever she entered insanity. Crona stared at the girl in bewilderment, not understanding the origins of the smile. "Why did you leave, Sally?" The girl asked, almost as if her smaller sister physically there to answer.

Crona was aware of Big Mary yelling at him from below, but he couldn't pull away from that smile. Not because he couldn't but because he didn't want to. He continued observing, waiting for something else to happen.

"Fuck you—"

The sound of skin being smacked was almost like a thunder, it caused Crona to take a bad step backward and fall to the ground. He wasted no time worrying about the pain that wasn't going to arrive.

Adriana was there. Mini Adriana, of course. The girl was dripping wet, and even though she tried to remain serious, her face showed signs of being tired and being frustrated. Veins were breaking out of her forehead, yelling out insults that her mouth can't spew. "What are you doing here, Mary?!" she shrieked, staring at her redheaded friend. "And yelling out curses, no less!" She placed two firm hands on her hips and stared, waiting to be addressed with an apology.

Mini Mary was shocked. The shocked face was quickly eradicated when the girl bend her head down and started to chuckle. All Mini Adriana did in response to this bizarre change was raise an eyebrow. "What's so funny?" she questioned, more confused than irritable.

To everyone's surprise, Mini Mary slapped Mini Adriana. _Hard. _The blonde fell on the floor the same as Crona. She quickly sat up and snapped, "What was _that _for?!"

"Shut up."

Crona stared at the scene in bewilderment, still numb from the shock of Mini Adriana appearing. His now-gray eyes flickered to where Adriana lay and wondered what she was going to do.

To his surprise, the blonde got sassy. She furrowed her eyebrows and got up. "Oh, so I visit your house to find you're not there, help your parents try to find you even though they told me not to because of this stupid weather. And I finally find you and _this _is what I get?! A slap in the face!" She stomped her foot in irritation. "Apologize this instant!"

As if something had pricked her back, Mini Mary shivered and took in her friend as if she had just appeared out of nowhere. "Adriana…?" she asked, unsure if this was an illusion.

"The one and only," she replied bitterly. The girl took a few stomps towards the redhead, and grabbed the collar of her shirt. "Are you going to apologize?"

Whether Mini Mary knew what she did or not, the girl only nodded slowly, and apologized, "I'm sorry." She dropped her look to the floor and stood there, on her tippy toes. Mini Adriana, finally accepting her apology, set her down.

"Well," she began, picking the white fabric of her skin, "I think we should go to your house now." Without a word, she took her hand. Crona was about to get up and follow them when Mini Mary stopped walking. "What's wrong?" Mini Adriana asked.

"Adriana…" she called out in a whisper.

"What is it? We really shouldn't be standing in this rain—we'll catch a cold!"

"Just answer this, please," the girl pleaded, almost at the verge of tears again.

After a hard look, Mini Adriana realized that there was no uses in making her friend cry again. "Fine, fine, what is it?"

"Sally's gone."

Mini Adriana _would _roll her eyes if they weren't about to discuss a dead child. Instead, Mini Adriana stared at the ground and simply replied, "I know."

"Do you know why?" Mini Mary shifted around uncomfortably. "Why did she take her life?" The girl's green eyes stared at her angel, wishing desperately for an answer to live by.

"She didn't," the girl whispered with irritability in her voice.

This obviously caused a surprise. "What do you mean?"

Mini Adriana stared at the end of the bridge where there will be civilization, and Mary's house to go to and warm themselves. Instead of being in this dreaded rain where they're still getting wet and increasing their chances of a cold. "Don't act stupid Mary. You know what I mean. Sally was small; she didn't know how to climb." She shook her head before continuing, "It makes no sense for her to take her life. That fight you two had…" Mini Mary waited apprehensively for an answer. It wasn't her fault that she died…at least…that's what she hoped to hear out of everyone. And that's what she heard. Those voices from her parents and others that told her it wasn't her fault. Bu that's not what the _other _voices were telling her.

"So…what do you think happened?"

"It's not my say." Mini Adriana turned her light blue eyes to meet Mini Mary's green ones. "But I think someone killed Sally."

Crona's eyes shot up at the theory. Sally murdered? True Crona barely knew anything involving the young girl, but he never would've thought that someone had it in for her…

Barely having time to wrap his mind around the thought, Crona's attention was caught again by Adriana. "Let's go, let's go!" Mini Adriana grabbed her friend's hand again. "Forget what I said, okay?" To Crona's bewilderment, Mini Adriana seemed to be happy, euphoric…odd. Why the sudden change?

"Wait!" Mary tried pulled. "You think she was killed?! By who?!"

Mini Adriana stared at her for a long while, and before Mini Mary could ask again, she walked up to her and said, "What do you mean, Mary?"

"What?"

"That's what I'm asking!" she giggled.

"You said—"

"What did I say?"

"You said that…" Her eyes fell to the ground and searched around, as if the answer had been dropped. "That…"

"I said that we should go home now," Mini Adriana chided in.

Mini Mary's eyes looked back up at the blonde's face. And to Crona's horror, she slowly nodded. "Right…we should go home." But the tapping was there—_several _tappings were there, like finger's tapping windows to acknowledge their presence. Thoughts wanting to be remembered. Don't forget, Mary.

"Hey, Crona." The one who was called whipped around to find Big Mary, walking towards him with an unreadable expression. Crona couldn't help but back away a little, afraid of the anger that she might break out into. After all, he had left her down there and completely ignored her existence, even as she shouted profanities.

When Mary got close enough she said, "Memory's terrible." It was almost as if she was talking about the weather. Crona stared at the girl before her and wondered why the apathy. But first…

"Mary, I'm sorry!"

"Non, non, non," the redhead sang as she took a hand out, a gesture used to stop traffic. "I will not have this apologizing. I'll just forget anyways. Plus, I'm not mad. Did I ever tell what my name means?" The last question seemed random. As if it has just dug itself into the stream of sentences and lay at the very end, hoping to not go unanswered. Truth be told, Mary was reciting these sentences and questions in her head, just so she wouldn't forget to ask them.

She broke into a small smile. "It has many different definitions but the best I could find is this…" She coughed, not to get attention, but because there was something in her throat. "Sea of bitterness."

The three words hung in the air for a while, and the silence would've continued, but Mary got impatient. "OBJECTION."

Crona jumped. "What?"

"Huh? What?" Mary looked around, confused. "No, I wanted a puppy."

"What?"

Mary looked as if she had just dropped from the sky to a different planet. So Crona shook his head and reminded her, "Your name means 'sea of bitterness'."

"Oh yes!" She snapped her fingers and failed. "Anyway," she walked towards the edge of the bridge. And Crona attacked her shoulder. He grabbed on and pulled her back.

"What are you doing?! Are you crazy?! You might fall!"

"I know. I wasn't going to jump. But that little six-year-old almost did, hadn't it been for Adriana."

The first fact he realized was the age. If he remembered correctly (which he did) Sally was five when she went and Mary was six, so this memory took place in the same year.

"Were you depressed?" Crona asked timidly, not wanting to set Mary off somehow.

But thankfully the redhead was calm. "Yup." She sighed. "I wanted to join Sally. Adriana had talked about a place called heaven, and how Sally had joined God." Crona was thankful that Mary was being somewhat informative. He didn't know much about religion, only that Medusa belittled it. That woman was all about science and experimenting on everything. He tried to follow. "So…I thought that if I died, I would join Sally."

Crona stared at the tormented water below. It was running down in tremendous speeds. The water was black. There was no life—nothing else but the current and the overlapping waves that continued to fall on each other. Had Mini Mary really tossed herself into the wet blackness, she would've been carried on and on until she drowned.

"It's a good thing she arrived…" he commented, this time forgetting to correct himself.

Mary pursed her lips and stared at nothing in silence. Crona felt a rage attack coming on. This time from _him._

"Well?" he asked, anger already seeping in.

She sighed again. "I dunno, Crona. I mean…I wasn't feeling the greatest at the time. I really feel like her death is my fault." She shook her head. "Even if it was murder she wouldn't have fallen a victim to it if I hadn't upset her!"

Crona shook his head, and faced her, belief strong. "No, it's not your fault! You couldn't have done anything to prevent that!"

"Lies," she mumbled. "You were there, you saw the fight."

"You were just stating what you believed." Crona recalled the fight. And he was right. All Mary was doing was telling her sister why she shouldn't wish for the crescent moon. Though… Crona felt a disturbance in his stomach. He hated feeling like this.

After a while she said, "I hate myself."

This caught Crona's attention pretty quick. "Why?"

"I hate my existence."

"Don't."

"…"

To be fair, Crona expected Mary to begin crying. His expectations for himself were to be mad, stay mad, and soften up a little when the time called for it. But not for himself to start crying.

Mary met his face. "I'm sorry you had to see that," she said, no real trace of forgiveness on her face. Poker face.

"Don't hate yourself." Despite all the elements surrounding them, Crona felt at peace. Mary was calm, and they were alone, in the rain. The rain itself had lightened up, at least. And it was a nice change of atmosphere. It seemed like they had all the time in the world to fix how they felt, even though in reality, there was a timer out there, waiting to bring them to their next memory.

"Stop crying, then."

Another surprise, another uplift. Nothing changed in her expression, still pokerfaced. Crona sniffed and brought his hands to his eyes to wipe away any tears. "S-Sorry…"

"There's no way I could change my opinion of myself. Too many things have happened. I'm not likable." Was she connecting her past to how she is now? Crona was slightly confused but tried to follow. "With Sally gone a bunch of problems began. Things went to hell."

"What happened?" Crona asked softly, once again, the curiosity getting to him.

She shrugged. "Problems. I started having emotional outbursts at random times. My parents were embarrassed of me," Crona quickly deduct this as false, "my teacher's hated me," false, "Rebecca was annoyed by me," false, "and I just wanted a friend."

Crona stopped his inner ramblings. This was true, at least.

Now it was Mary's turn to tear up. "Adriana was the only one I had left. S-She put up with me. I-I-I didn't want to lose her!" Her shoulder's started shivering along with her frame. "I honestly thought that she would leave. Nothing was working!" She brought her hand up to her head and clutched on. "No one understood. No one tried. Professionals couldn't. Could they? Did they believe me when I told them?" Giggling ensued. Crona knew she lost her now. "I dunno. Do ya think so? They looked at me kinda funny. I was a monster. A pest. Something they wanted to stomp but knew they would get in trouble if they did. Did they?" Mary raised her head up to the sky and allowed the rain free access to her face. "There was that one doctor…She promised me that she would fix me up. Make me forget everything. Bliss, she called it. Happiness as well. To be able to live without Sally. But she didn't fix anything."

Mary turned her head to Crona and with a drunken laugh she said, "Hey, Crona! She fucked me up! She screwed me up for good, didn't she?"

Before Crona could react, Mary walked towards the edge of the bridge, threw herself in the air, and yelled at the top of her lungs, "I AM A CLOUD."

* * *

**Author's Note: **What do you mean this wasn't worth the wait?! Sorry. I suck :/ But hey! It's okay! Because when life gives you lemons, you make tortillas. What? You don't know what a tortilla is? Google it. Google's awesome. What? You're not a Google fan? S'okay. I can respect that. What? You don't respect me? Oh well… Pfft… You… Uh… YOU'RE STILL AWESOME. :D

Now you might be wondering… Why this is so long, yet last chapter was so short? WHAT IS THIS? Well…funny story—

Hero: It won't be funny.

Shhhh! Anyway, I started working on this after the First Crescent Moon, because I got the order mixed up. And I wrote the other chapter fast and rushed and IT WAS JUST HORRIBLE. Anywayssssss—

Hero: Stoooooop.

I don't want to "stoop". Anyway. So yeah…Sorry. Last chapter was short and bleh, but this chapter was long and bleh! So that makes a world of a difference!

Hero: No it doesn't!

Shhhhhhh!

Hero: Don't "shhh" me! So rude.

I'm sorry D: I am waiting.

Hero: For what?

…Sh.

**Bonus Content: **

"_You shouldn't curse, Mary."_

"_Oh, sorry…It's a habit, since my mom curses a lot at home."_

"_Well, stop cursing. God doesn't like that. And if you want to be friends, you shouldn't curse either."_

"_G-God…?"_

"_Yes, God."_

"_Oh! I'm sorry then. I'll stop."_


End file.
